


Elune's Pebble

by Tendragos



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Warcraft - All Media Types
Genre: Attempts to appease the red shirt guy, But the batteries ran out, Draco gets Tirioned, Dumbledore failed his Frostmourne moment, F/M, Gen, Harry knows first aid, Harry tickles a sleeping dragon, Hedwig gets into the Rare Candies, Hedwig now identifies as an Articuno, Magical Holodecks ftw!, Magical Languages, Magical Realism, No way she's going to accept being the weaker familiar, Not a Gringotts Fix-It story, Popcorn was invented by Wizards, Puppet!Dumbledore, Sirius is less crazy!, The Black Family has an I.W.I.N. Button
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 223,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26023945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tendragos/pseuds/Tendragos
Summary: HP/Warcraft crossover with no knowledge of Warcraft needed. Harry in his 5th year could have used a few friends with actual combat experience. A lot of folks on Azeroth during Cataclysm would have been better off anywhere else. If you think HP cannon needed more Dragons, this is the fic for you! Features HP/HG/? Ship and a Dumbledore who failed his DADA practical on cursed objects.
Comments: 62
Kudos: 114





	1. Chapter 1: Worlds Bridged or the Dawn of the Desperate Dragons

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Harry Potter and World of Warcraft crossover. I’ve enjoyed both worlds, but both have some… Issues with how they’re presented. I’ve got nine chapters, 108,000 words so far. I’ll be editing, mostly to make sure I’ve kept everything straight. I don’t want some guy in a red shirt catching me after all. For content, I think Adventure/Worldbuilding/A little romance? Eh, we’ll see where it goes. Harry’s making new friends, and will be going to new places. Early Warcraft peeps are invented characters, but unless I wanted Harry to befriend VIPs and Dragon Aspects by chapter three, that was needed. Heck, in the game the vast majority of the dragons you encounter don’t even have names. I hope my invented characters seem like I pulled them out of the Twilight Highlands or Coldarra or the nebulous realm of Hogwarts students that don’t normally interact with Harry Potter.
> 
> Harry’s going to get stronger, but you give him access to a skilled user of magic and motivation, and that’s unpreventable. Not that you’d want to. Hopefully I can make him believably a little more thoughtful/creative as well. His enemies will either be scaled up or new ones presented. (Oprah voice: “You get a training montage, and you get a training montage! Everyone gets a training montage!”) The quotes “All realities, all dimensions are open to us!” or “We span the universe, as countless as the stars!” might come into play. Or might not.
> 
> As far as magic goes, Ley-lines, Runes as a component of permanent magic, and not all magicals having the exact same potential are in this story. (Harry can handle big stuff like the Patronus, Neville can manage a lot of smaller spells better, and Ron hasn’t found what he is really good at yet.) People will tend towards different schools of magic, if you think Neville’s going to escape life as a Druid in this story you’re crazy. (But he’ll find there are some perks to that path.) Magical creatures won’t think exactly like humans; a dragon or elf, or Orc will be different, hopefully in a way that makes sense. (Here’s a quote from a long ways down the pipes: “Don’t expect an Orc to think like you do. They aren’t you. You might or might not be able to trust them to be honorable, but you’re a fool if you expect them to ever be peaceful.”) Gringotts might become a minor or major antagonist a little further down the line. I try to make everything I can make sense. Dragons don’t like wearing clothing because it isn’t comfortable over their scales, and abstain from armor because no one wants to look like Deathwing. All those Goblin Rebellions? They might not completely be the fault of the mean Wizards not respecting their culture.
> 
> I’m not a fan of bashing stories, but there’s a problem with cannon Dumbledore. His actions are inconsistent with what his image is. I saw it mentioned on a profile somewhere that he isn’t a coherent person as much as he is a plot device. My Albus simply failed his Frostmourne moment to a much less drastic effect. Instead of saying “Yeah Muradin, let’s get the hell out of here.” Albus said “Oooh, shiny!” It’s my attempt to make an inconsistent thing consistent, and hopefully it comes out better than if I’d made him the Dark Lord of lemon drops and spider webs.
> 
> Characters will engage in adult activities, but I’m not sure what I can actually post on what site yet. If I have to, I can cut something out and stick a “One hour later” or something in.
> 
> This is practice for me, before I enter the realm of original literature, I want to practice playing in someone else’s sandbox first. I don’t own anything owned by Blizzard or JK. 
> 
> Thoughtful reviews are super helpful. Also, if you can think up a name for a dragon that fits within their naming theme and isn’t already in use, that would be super useful. Same thing with the Warcraft elves. It’s embarrassing how long I took to name the main ones. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this, next chapter will be out in less than a week, hopefully with weekly chapters if I can keep ahead.

Edited on 12-28-2020. I’m mostly just cleaning up the grammar and syntax, no plot changes.

Chapter 1: Worlds Bridged or the Dawn of the Desperate Dragons

“Tendrion, are you sure this is the only way? You’ve led us well so far, I don’t think I could do half so good a job.” In a cave, dark but for a few torches casting shadows deep below the surface, stood two creatures most would say are straight out of mythology. Reptilian features, quadrupedal, tails tipped with thick blunted spikes, and large wings now folded against their backs marked them as dragons.

Physically, they appeared very similar, with just some slight differences in the colors of their scales, and a difference in size that might mark one as being older. In the near darkness, the only thing to be told of their hides was that they bore some dark shade. The air was humid, condensation dripped from the ceiling in places where the stones were cooler than the air, proof of water flowing not far away.

“Ralion, we are out of time, and out of places to run. We are exhausted, our muscles strained, we’re wounded. Caliona needs more help than I can give her. ‘Borrowing’ a priest back in Duskwood backfired spectacularly, though I am proud of you for honoring your word. Your sister survived her wounds, and that mortal may hesitate to harm our kind, once her people realize she’s not part of the Cult. But after looking through Karazhan’s Library, I know our plan wouldn’t work in Outland.

“Here is as good as any other place, better since we’re near a ley-line intersect. I need you to trust me, one more time, my brother in blood and heart.” Finished speaking, the dragon that’s half again the size of the other just looked at the other, quiet fortitude in his stance.

The smaller dragon looked to the larger, his every appendage drooping for a moment before he reached out with a forelimb and gripped the other’s shoulder. He tried to speak, but nothing came. Instead he simply nodded and let go, hoping everything that needed to be said, has been said already.

Both dragons began moving again. Their hunters were never far behind, they had been nipping at their heels for weeks now all across the continent. Time was their enemy.

In the adjacent cavern, a circle was carved into the stone floor, many arcane symbols decorating it and sharp runic script flowing around the outer edge. It was just large enough for the larger dragon to stand in, if he chose to curl his tail. Several torches lit the cavern in a flickering light. Three other dragons lay on the ground, each opening one eye as the two enter. Packs were strewn around, and an odd pink sphere lay against the wall; it matched a smaller orb on a bit of chain around Tendrion’s neck, now visible in the greater light. With not much more than a thought, he removed the odd necklace and slipped it over Ralion’s head.

Four of the five dragons bore similar colors, the fifth seemed to be the odd one out with dark orange on his underside, around his talons, on the bony spikes of his tail, the back of his head and the membrane of his wings; elsewhere he was as black as night. His name was Talion. Next to him, one of the females was a very dark blue nearly everywhere, with slight stripes of purple flowing from her face, down her sides and to the tip of her tail; her wing membranes wereblack near the bones they lead from, fading to dark blues a little further down. She was Caliona. On Caliona’s other side rested Vespiona, a creature with dark purple wings, just a few shades lighter than the streak that encompasses her from face to tail, above legs and an underside that’s a purple so dark that even in sunlight it often appeared black.

The smaller of the two entering the room now is Ralion, and his colors match Vespiona, his sister. Half again the size of Ralion, Tendrion was a creature painted like a piece of glacial ice: a blue that calls to mind old, deep ice everywhere except where it faded to a lighter shade for the outer third of his wing membrane.

None of the five looked particularly great. Exhaustion had set in, seen in the way they carried themselves, in the way the three reclining feel their eyes drooping shut against their will. Ribs could be seen clearly on each one, they’ve had to choose between taking time to hunt and surviving another day too many times. Their scales were notched, cracked in places; and caked in grime and mud in others, none of the healthy gleam that ought to be visible.

The blue female on the ground (Though it’s not easy for most to tell this creature’s genders apart.) had bandages wrapped around her throat, and something dark was seeping through. But when Tendrion stepped forward with a purpose, they gave him their attention, all eyes on him, save the one on the black drake that had swollen shut.

“This is it my friends. Our best chance is now. I’m going to start the ritual, as soon as a portal opens, use the speak-stones to double check there’s something on the other side. If there is, take the sphere and run for it.” Talion, the black and orange drake started to raise his head to speak, but Tendrion cut him off. “I won’t be coming with you. I don’t know if there was ever a chance for all five of us to get off this rock, but I can give you four a chance.”

Taking a deep breath, Tendrion made eye contact with each of them. “Caliona, you have done well at curbing some your worst tendencies. Remember, violence might be needed at times, cruelty is _not._ Vespiona,” Here, he looked tenderly at the purple female. “you have been a great part of my life, I am thankful for the time we had. Talion, it wasn’t out of pity or selfishness that I took you under my wing. I hope someday you understand why I felt like we were so much alike.”

Taking a deep breath, he turned to his last companion. “Ralion, in all the time we’ve been as brothers, you have given me more hope than you can imagine. So many times I’ve seen you almost understand the truth. All of my lessons you took to heart bolstered me when I had nearly faltered. Lead them well.”

Ignoring the moisture in his eyes, Tendrion stepped forward to examine the circle and hastily added two words in the Draconicinscription, two proper nouns etched in his own fresh blood. Turning back, he stepped around to Talion’s side, helping him up, ignoring the wheeze of pain.

“The four of you, around the circle at the cardinal points, now. Now matter what happens, no matter what I or any voice you hear say, I need you all to trust me and stay silent. I haven’t brought you this far from the war to let you die now. Keep in the front of your minds this: _I will never betray you_. I will never let you be harmed if I can help it. You’ve trusted in me so far, just do it this one last time.”

In a moment, the five had walked or been drug to their places. Tendrion cut his forearms anew and filled the outer circle with fresh blood. That done, he grasped every scrap of magic that was his birthright, every scrap that his flames had stolen and poured himself into the circle. Runes lit up and an odd cadence, almost beyond their hearing started to thrum.

Drakes (For these creatures, “drake” being the third being the third level of their development, after the “egg” and “whelp” stages but before the “dragon” stage.) usually had a lot of problems using magic, not so much for the fact that they lacked the power, but because they had yet to develop the parts of them needed for fine control, resulting in inefficient spell casts. (Essentially making mistakes in weaving the energy, causing spells to either not work or require more power for the same effects.) Using a carefully crafted rune array, however, to shape the energy poured in negated this weakness. Tendrion had been working on this array in his head for months, and finished refining it during his trip through the Great (and greatly disorganized) Library at Karazhan.

Around him, the others began pouring their magic into the circle’s focus, though they’d hold back a bit. This was his plan, and everything he had was going into it. Not, of course, that the amount of magic they were pouring in was anywhere near enough for what they wanted to achieve. Tearing a hole between worlds was a vastly draining exercise, if you knew where they were relative to each other. If you had people working on both sides to accomplish your task. If you were trying to open a new tear to you knew not where, it required an almost impossible amount of magical energy.

Thus came the second part of this operation, and the one he most feared. Not just because his request could be turned down, but because he knew the powers that held the minds of those he cared for above all others in an iron grip would force them to see it as betrayal. Power thrummed now through the circle now; their mana (A general term for the amount of magic freely usable in one’s body at any time.) was calling for the power which flowed through the earth, the often misunderstood ley-lines.

The last addition to his circle came into play now. As power began to flow from the veins of the world, a pulse was sent out to the lesser of the two entities. Tendrion had inscribed them last to keep them secret, for they had often been enemies of those he fought and bled with. Or, to be more direct, they were the enemies of the dark gods that had burrowed into the very depths of his friend’s minds.

Taking a deep breath, and gathering resolve that these four, at least, if not all their kin, would breathe free after today, he spoke at the same moment all present felt a great weight, a great presence fall on them. No matter the distance, they had been SEEN by something greater than themselves.

“Cenarius, Lord of the Forest, I call for your council and blessings, that you would allow me a brief moment to give an offering and plead before She who birthed you.” Some of those words were important, spoken in an old tongue, not just for the ceremony, but hopefully for getting the demi-god to hear those who he would rightfully look upon as enemies. Opening eyes he didn’t recall closing, he looked at his friends, his lover, the brother he trusted above all others. As he knew, there was betrayal on all four; but as he’d hoped there was something more on Ralion’s face, as if he was trying to understand something beyond him.

Beyond the circle of his friends, the cave seemed to fall away now. It was replaced with a vast monolithic forest, lit faintly by small rays of moonlight filtering down through the branches. And in the shadows, a large silhouette approached. “Who dares Call on me?”

“I am Tendrion. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only free Twilight Dragon that has survived to maturity.” He couldn’t afford to look at his friends now, he must keep eye contact with the demi-god. He knew that the greater beings could read his life through his eyes and see any deceit in them. That is why he had to be very careful to broadcast his honest intentions.

“A bold claim.” A figure steps into the light. In physical size, it was not vastly larger than the drakes, resembling a centaur; with the addition of cloven hooves, antlers, long ears, and one arm that ending in wooden claws instead of the fairly normal hand on the right. If not for the sense about him, one would say he’d been infested with some kind of vine-like plant matter, but somehow, it just felt like a part of him; it emphasized that he was a creature of the forest, or that the forest was an extension of him. His presence, the sheer force of it was almost overwhelming when directed on the five relatively young creatures before him.

As Cenarius continues to peer into the five, especially the one in the center of the circle, he appreciates just how young those in front of him actually are. The Black drake is the oldest by far, having grown at the normal rate for the five original Dragonflights; he was about twelve years old. Next is the biggest Twilight drake, he seems to be about five; obviously the Cult had found a way to greatly hasten their growth. The others are just a little bit younger than that. It struck the Forest Lord that these four should have still been whelps, playing under the watchful eyes of a Broodmother, not sent off to war. As the forest lord continued to ponder those before him, he looked into the mind of center drake. The creature was maintaining eye contact, almost offering his thoughts to him. With an amused thought, he took up the drake’s invitation.

And, it was an invitation as it turned out. Tendrion was trying to show the Guardian of the Forest his whole life. From vague impressions inside his egg, of fear not his own, of strange sounds outside, of being roughly moved. Of coming to rest in a new place, of something _wrong_ standing not far from him, of pain and voices whispering to him, of _something_ washing over him in his shell. Of the pain as his old Flight was torn from him, as he was forcefully added to the Twilight Dragonflight. 

Of the worse things to come as something awful walked among the stolen eggs, of voices that whispered and corrupted and tried to warp him into a monster. Of the fear, the torture that seemed unending, that didn’t just make him afraid but also so very _angry_ that they dared to hurt him. Of coming so very, very close to breaking, to giving in and accepting those voices as his truth, as his gods. Of that oily darkness outside his shell moving on just moments before he would have given his loyalty to _anything_ , just to make the pain stop. Of spending the time left to him in his egg forming a resolve to never be a slave to those things that tried to break him, to _hurt_ them somehow. 

The Forest Lord saw his hatching through his own eyes, of how the whelps turned on each other and killed the weakest; how one of his siblings attacked him and he had to fight or die. Of the Broodmother watching him try to show mercy to his insane sibling as it lay wounded below him and knowing, knowing without a doubt that if he was caught being merciful this day, or any other, he would join those that were disposed of as  _unworthy_ . Of ending that whelp’s life, and hiding how it tore at him so to do it, just to live another day. 

He saw the little dragon begin training to kill the other  Dragonf lights, of the indoctrination that was forced on them. H e saw  this little whelp  feeling so very, very alone as he saw the flaws in the logic that was presented to them, that painted the mortal races and  D ragonflights as villains, and the Twilight as heroes. He saw the whelp grow into a drake in the flames of their Broodmother, saw the drake fly to war in Hyjal. 

Saw what happened when he saw uncorrupted dragons for the first time, how he wanted to stop and simply talk to them, to know what their lives were like. And he felt the despair when his brothers and sisters fell before them as drakes and dragons of Red, Blue, and Green tore into them with _so much_ _zeal._ How he fought them, letting his disappointment fall into rage at ones he’d known all his short life falling to the ground, at their lives snuffed out as if they were _animals_ and not _victims_. 

He saw the drake harden his heart and fight on the wrong side of the war, lost and without purpose until one day he saw a green drake limping away into the forest from a battle; of knowing that this was something he could do. He saw  the drake force other pursuers away, telling them that this was his kill, and he wanted to have  _fun_ with  _it_ before she died. Saw the knowing smirks on his brothers as they turned away, felt the disgust at what he’d implied. 

Saw him stalk the drake into a small clearing and tell her to stay there until night fell, as he talked with her, almost begging her for any knowledge about the corruption that  plagued his kind while he rubbed her blood onto his talons and face and underside. Saw him bind her wound with a bit of scrap cloth before holding her down and forcefully bringer her to arousal, apologizing the whole time just so that the scents on him would be right. Saw him look at her, terrified and beg her to tell no one but her Aspect, that they had so many spies in their ranks she should trust no one. Saw the horror in her eyes as she realized that the stains and scents he’d taken from her would  persuade his fellow that he’d  raped and gutted her, saw the horror that a possibly noble creature would need to fake being a monster. 

Saw her ask him to join her,  to switch sides. Saw the rejection and why, when he admitted that he had hope for his Flight, that there  _must_ be something that could help them, how that if he joined her now he would never earn their trust again. As enough time had passed he left her with a promise that he would spare as many as he could, until he was caught and tortured to death. Saw him take flight, building a hope he already suspected was false in his mind, saw him adopt a  false expression of satisfaction as he turned towards the latest camp. 

Cenarius saw a trend develop; foes spared whenever he could, eggs hidden from the collection teams that stole them. Saw a daring raid that saw two red drakes and a bag o’whelps stolen from the clutches of the enemy, saw hi m hand the bag over to the Red Drakes beyond the Twilight Cult’s camp, with the condition that they all be cared for and kept  _away_ from the war, the Reds not knowing about the many Twilight whelps mixed in with the Reds and Greens, behaving themselves because  _he told them to_ . Asked the two drakes to be at a certain point, and to bring enough paint to make him look like a Red or Green for a few hours, and to bring something to get if off after. 

Saw him lead those two, and a few of their most trusted friends on a daring raid against the Cult. Saw the true hatred he had for those that had  _chosen_ to side with the darkness as he tore through cultists he had  earlier that day been politely obedient to. Saw his trap work perfectly, and  the  two  towering Faceless  Corrupters fall along with the cult. Felt his vindication when he told the Reds that these  _things_ were what bound the stolen eggs to the will of the Old Gods, and how he had hated them since he was in his shell and he couldn’t fight or flee and they  _hurt_ him  until he nearly gave in . How he convinced the others to take  _all_ the eggs with them, that they might have saved  even  some  of the Twilight eggs from his Flight’s madness, that this was his price for helping them. Over a hundred whelps and twice as many  were eggs brought back  to their side that night. 

( And this, Cenarius had heard of himself, how they had brought the rescues directly to the Dragonqueen herself, and she had ordered the Twilight eggs and whelps destroyed with misty eyes, and that those five drakes had stood before her and said  _No._ The rumors had circulated that they demanded a private audience with her, and that  afterwards she’d sent the Twilight rescues off somewhere with a Broodmother, and a few trusted Night Elves too injured to fight a war, but hale enough to wrangle whelps, that she was reserving judgment on them for now. )

He saw them make their escape, and Tendrion lean into the soft touches as the Reds split, the males making off for their lines laden with embersilk bags filled to the brim with such precious cargo, and two females staying behind to clean the paint off him and give him what comfort they could. Saw his confusion that they would be  _gentle_ with him, and their excuse that a bath and some lingering scents would explain a great deal if his absence had been noted. 

That was the point where Cenarius had seen enough. He briefly looked at the other four, but he could tell they were mired in the darkness just as any other of their  kind . An oily darkness clung to them, and he could see in their minds betrayal and anger directed at Tendrion. But, as he looked closer, into their m inds he saw why they were with this (sadly) unique drake.  They were  _trying_ to understand, especially the purple male at Tendrion’s right side; the darkness kept them from seeing the truth, but they  _wanted_ to. Moving back to stand directly before Tendrion, he gave a nod of acknowledgment, he’d seen enough. Deception while being so  _open_ was almost impossible,  thus  he reached a  decision. If it were within his power, he would help this c reature . 

“ You did not lie.  Tell me, what is it that you seek? What is your purpose here?” A part of Cenarius always approved when any creature stood before him without fear, even knowing what he was; and this little drake, now that he looked beyond the eyes, bruised, bloody, and half starved looked at him with a little more confidence now. 

“I wish to send these four to a distant world, a place where they can live free, where they won’t die without ever standing in the light, where they can  _understand_ what is denied them here. I can’t ask for perfect lives for them, but if the Goddess is willing I just want them to have a chance to  _Live_ . Not die as slaves, never seeing their chains.”

“That is no small thing, even for my mother. Do you have anything to offer for this boon you seek?”

For the first time since Cenarius had appeared, Tendrion  looked away from him  and looked each of his companions in the eye. Turning back to the figure that towered over them, metaphorically if not physically, he once again looked looked the Forest Lord in the eyes, as if daring him to detect any lies. “I offer myself. I offer my service, body and soul in whatever task she would ask of me for as long as my body, bones, or soul exists.”

Everyone else drew in a deep breath.  “Old,” is certainly a subjective concept, for instance, a human is old in their seventies. A dragon is old around the time they hit 15,000 years of life. Few make it that far, due to conflicts, disease and such. Azeroth’s (The world on which they live.) Dragon Aspects, the leaders of their flights, are timeless in a way few others are, the four survivors of that title are over tw enty -thousand years old. No one involved here doubt ed Elune, the goddess of the moon, mother to Cenarius, lack ed the power to  force  such  a lifespan on a creature like them.  Dragon bones tend not to degrade easily, one need only visit the great Dragonblight in the cold north to see bones from the dawn of time still entombed within the ice. Naturally, many creatures feel a soul is immortal, in one form or another.

“Brother...” The purple drake had began to interrupt, falling silent when all eyes turned to him for interrupting. Dropping his eyes, he merely choked out “Thank you.” He did not understand the things that were denied him, but he could see the weight of the sacrifice.

Cenarius felt as if he was intruding in this moment, so he turned his focus to a beam of  moon light in his mental plane. Though he had been raised on the  world by  his father and Ysera, he had still often spoke with his mother and come to know her when he was young. After so many years there was little left to say, but he knew she would still listen to him. Within his mind he called out to her, and began explaining what he had learned. 

Long ago, before hostile forces invaded their world, before betrayal brok e the unity of the Dragon Aspects, before all but the eldest races of the world drew their first breaths, Elune had  conceived a child from Malorne,  the first Protector of Nature, a being and force of the world. Cenarius took much after his father, and thus she could not keep him with herself; as a creature of Nature, of the Forest, he needed to walk  the world below. Thus, she gave him to his father to raise, and asked Ysera, the Aspect of the Green Dragonflight to help h im . It was a decision she had never regretted. 

Elune rarely acted, for reasons known only to herself, but she often watched. When her son called to her, she  already knew  this dragon offering himself to her, for she had seen him before. She had seen him spare daughters and sons of Ysera, had seen the first time he freed whelps meant for sport, when he’d been caught and fled. She chose to give a dream to some of those that followed her, and this odd Twilight dragon was spared after others of his  Dragonf light had torn him the sky, when he had moved to land on his  own  wing instead of the whelps her carried. 

While dead to the world in agony, her followers had moved in and wiped out all who those who seen him escape, rescued the whelps and mended his injuries. That night, Tendrion awoke bruised but whole, not knowing if he’d even broken anything after all. When he crept up on the  encampment he’d been stationed at, it was burning; many corpses of the Cult but few of the Flight lay there, and he introduced himself as a straggler, who had gone out for a lucky hunt at the next  fortification . 

Instead of giving up on his nightly activities, he simply learned to be better at them. He continued until the whole of Twilight Cult had been pushed out of Hyjal, and he blended in with the retreating drakes. He had provided a relief of suffering to Ysera, to see at least some of her lost children coming home. This was worth rewarding. She gathered her power and began shaping it as she replied to her son. Her awareness stretched out, far beyond the world on which they stood, searching for a place for those that followed this Champion to call home. Perhaps… Perhaps those broken could help each other, could grasp hope and the future together. 

Back in the cavern, as the real world faded back into being, Cenarius spoke as he too faded out of sight. “My mother accepts  your offer ing , and will grant your request.” Seeing the relief in the one who called for him, the joy that his friends had a chance was a pleasure. Seeing the emotions sour, turn to dread as he began to worry for himself only now, after the others were safe,  proved  a few more words were needed. “You need not fear. Though you do not know it, you have already done much of which my mother would thank you, Tendrion. I do not think your service to her will be unpleasant, Twilight Champion.”

With that, everything else fell away completely,  leaving only the five dragons in a cave. While their attention had been focused elsewhere, much power had built up in the circle, and a great thrumming sound could be heard. Tendrion looked around him, seeing his friends looks of horror, ( _For him!_ Not  _of_ him!) and he only gave them a smile as he felt a great pull on himself, and then he was elsewhere. For a moment he could still see that cave below the earth where he had been standing, a s  the runes flared and a brilliant blue portal opened. He saw Ralion shake off all his emotion, and step through bravely. Then that was it. He looked around, but he couldn’t see, or  rather  couldn’t comprehend any of his surroundings. Ah, so here started his service.

Slowly, at first, the dragon felt a presence come close to him. And then his skin started to burn. He tried to be strong, but he was so tired, so weary of everything in his life. As his limbs locked in place on their own he started to cry. He was, of course, only five years old.

Something seemed to wrap around him then. And though he could feel parts of him flaking away, the pain ended. Then, he heard a voice that comforted him.  _‘Be at peace, my new Herald, my Twilight Champion. That which poisoned you in your old life must be burnt away, so that you can live as my servant. Rest now, let go of your sorrows and old sufferings. You have been brave, now sleep. When you wake,_ _you will know your place as my hand in the world below.”_

Somehow, it felt to Tendrion that every sleepless night in his life caught up to him at once. His body was still changing, but that felt unimportant somehow. He gave a great yawn, and looked at the presence he felt around him. He felt so very, very small now. “Can, can you use me to help them? To save them and give them hope?”

Inside his own head he didn’t know if he was talking about his old Flight or the ones they were hurting. Both,  he decided,  it must be both. Tendrion, the newly dubbed Twilight Champion, and Herald of Elune received no answer, but could almost  physically  feel p eace wrapped all around him. As he fell to slu mber he thought that he must have asked the right question. A smile graced his changing face as he fell into the calmest sleep he’d had since he was back in his egg, before he’d been stolen away. 


	2. Chapter 2: A castle far from home

I own neither franchise.

Chapter 2: A Castle far from Home

A vast distance, for now, from the band of dragons there was a boy, tossing and turning in his sleep. He had unruly black hair on his head, and many scars scattered about his body. The most prominent was on his forehead, above his right eye. His life, since he was a toddler, had never been easy. As a child, he was forced to work hard around the house where he lived. He was underfed, and forced to sleep in a space most people would merely keep cleaning supplies. He had no friends until he was eleven years old, and the relatives he stayed with made sure to constantly let him know he was neither wanted nor loved.

Many nights, nightmares plagued his sleep, leaving him tired for the next day. Long experience at his “home” had taught him to have them silently. When he left his home to come to a boarding school, life was better in many ways, but worse in others. He had as much food as he wanted, though it took time for him to realize that. He had many people that wanted to touch a legend that had existed with him not knowing, _not_ _benefiting from_ for the last ten years; and many opportunities to meet children his own age without his cousin beating them away. Sadly, the lesson life had taught him was any attention was bad and would see him hurt. He wanted to have friends, but somehow only managed two; though they were close. Except when they weren’t.

Since he’d come to the school, the boy had found himself fighting possessed professors, the apex predator in the basement, and demons that lived only to destroy all the happiness and joy in the world. Last year, he’d been forced into a tournament, made to compete in what was almost a blood sport because someone else had put his name into contention. He’d flown on a piece of wood against a dragon, and survived both a maze a duel with a madman. When he made it back with nothing but a bit of luck, having brought a corpse that had once been a fellow competitor and student, he received no comfort, no counseling.

The only man that could have cleared things up, instead of being questioned, was summarily executed. A strange move for a society that had a viable truth serum. The boy was sent back to live with people that made a point in their day to let him know he was despised, and cut off from communicating with any person that actually cared about him. He was only let back into the loop when someone, probably the same government that had silenced the man that could have validated his story, tried to, and nearly did, not just murder him, but destroy his soul.

When he had been ‘saved,’ as par for the course, _after_ he had dealt with the danger himself, he found that all his friends had been living together with his Godfather, (Who was only prevented by living with Harry all the time by the fact that he had an unwarranted kill-on-sight order from this same government.) hiding in an invisible house without him. He was greeted with the news that, once again, no progress had been made in getting his Godfather’s name cleared, but instead _he_ was about to head into a show trial; as he had become a pawn in the chess game between his headmaster and the government. 

Naturally, instead of celebrating his continued life-with-a-soul, he was moved into cleaning a house as apparent busywork. Now in the house, he received the normal amount of love and support from the adults around him, with the addition of a godfather who was not wholly in his right mind but  was  _trying_ . No counseling was offered,  no trip to a certified healer to be sure he was healthy after his ordeal. Just the knowledge that everyone who read the paper was slowly being convinced he was dangerously insane. 

As the year had progressed, things continued to get worse. He was told to keep his head down and bear it as insults and hate we re piled atop him. Just recently, he had been convinced to fight back, to teach his fellow students that were deliberately being left defenseless in the face of a coming war. Now though, his night had become a bit strange. His regularly scheduled nightmare had just been banished and now he was lucidly dreaming of a forest bathed in moonlight. He saw figures in the distance, blurry. He felt peaceful, relieved of all his burdens. Suddenly he awoke, with purpose flowing in his veins,  rested and full of energy like he’d rarely felt  before . Quickly and quietly he sprung out of bed and grabbed pants, no time for a shirt. 

Stepping into the bathroom of his dorm, he called for his best hope. “Dobby!” What came when he called was a short, very strange creature with huge eyes and long, d rooping ears. The boy, Harry Potter, was quick to silence him. “I need help, Dobby. I need you to go to the girls dorm and get Hermione for me without waking her roommates, okay? Just tell her to bring her wand and some shoes and to meet me in the common room  _now_ . Tell her I need her and that it’s important.” 

Seeing how serious his favorite human was, the little elf popped away, much  more  quiet ly than he arrived. Harry only stopped to grab essential items, his wand, an invisibility cloak,  a magical map that would help with avoiding unwanted interruptions,  and  shoes without socks. He tore down the stairs, invisible. Only a few moments passed and his friend came down the other set of stairs. Her hair was incredibly disheveled, and as she came towards him, hi m having t ossed the hood of the cloak off his head, she was not happy. As she started to wind up a head of steam, he quickly covered her mouth with his hand and spoke in an urgent whisper.

“I need you to trust me. Just for tonight, okay? I need my best friend to believe me and give me help when I need it. Can you do that?” Shocked by his seriousness, she only nodded and slipped under the cloak with him. It was very, very rare that her friend was so serious.

It took her longer than it should have to notice that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. As her mind slowly woke  more and more questions flared up, begging to be asked, but that would defeat the whole point of sneaking. When the reached a crossroad and saw a dot  labeled Argus Flich  approaching on the map, she was shocked when Harry simply pulled out his wand and sent a quiet stunning spell that dropped him instantly. In fact, she froze in shock until he carefully gripped his arm and guided her away.  As they continued she heard him whisper. “Dobby, can you get him into his bed? Maybe do something to make him think he got drunk or something?”

Unseen, but still heard the small elf whispered back. “Mean Filchy will get to bed, no worries Great Sir Harry Potter!”

Unable to contain all of her questions at this point,  Hermione blurted out the first thought on her mind. “What was that! That was so aggressive,  just attacking him like that!” She expected Harry to start spluttering immediately, instead he just turned to face her calmly from where he’d been reading the map. 

“I think there’s lives at stake tonight. He’ll be fine in the morning, I can’t let anything get in our way tonight.”

“Harry, if that’s true we should get a professor right now.”

The young man let out a snort. “Think for a moment Hermione, when has that ever helped in any situation we’ve been in? No, I don’t have time for Snape to insult me and a father I’ve never know n , Umbridge to give me detention,  McGonagall  to dither and do nothing and say that Dumbledore will take care of it and then for Dumbledore to give me a  long  speech that says nothing  important  and then coyly wink and let me  do  everything myself with no useful help. There isn’t any time, just trust me for a little longer, please.”

As her brain continued to unfog,  Hermione had to admit that while she didn’t  like  what he said, he wasn’t exactly  _ wrong _ but somehow her mind started building small arguments against what she accepted as true almost immediately. This should have been a red flag to her, but somehow it wasn’t. Her mind became embroiled in argument and counter-argument and she trusted in Harry to guide her, having had a good deal of practice sneaking under this very cloak. 

Eventually, the two reached the seventh floor, and came before a certain, very odd portrait. After one last check of his map, Harry left her behind with a whispered “This might take a few tries to get what I want, just watch the map for a few moments.” She watched him move back and forth, muttering for a few moments, no door appearing for a time, until the third attempt.

Quickly following him in, she was shocked when the room was pure black obsidian, something she’d read was used in certain specialized ritual rooms. Seconds after they entered, the door faded away until the only thing left in the expansive room was  a circle that looked to have been carved in the floor and then had molten gold poured in. Around the edge of the circle was a complicated rune array, in a language she had never seen before. She watched Harry walk to the edge, place his hands over two specific runes before they started to glow. That glow slowly carried around the edge until the circle and golden runes were all lit by a gentle blue light. 

“Okay Harry. Explanation, now.” She said as sternly as she could. As the glow from the runes became the only lighting in the room she realized that this was the first time she’d seen Harry without a shirt on. There were far more scars than she thought there should be on his back and arms.

Letting out a deep breath, Harry began. “We’re early. Okay, do you believe in life on other worlds? And that there’s probably some where the people live better and some that live worse than us?”

“Yes, the sheer number of stars, of likely worlds make that almost a certainty. But the distances involved are such that science still has no idea how…” Her head snapped around and she stomped around the circle to look in his eyes, his hands were still  on the circle, not having moved yet. “Harry, are you, right now, contacting another world? Is that what this circle does? And what is this runic language?”

“I don’t know what language it is exactly, just that it matches another one far, far away that is about to activate. I was having my usual nightmare tonight, when it just stopped, and I knew I was dreaming, and then I was far, far away. I saw figures in the distance, pleading with something. I can’t really explain the rest, but I felt something touch me, and then I knew how to get this room set up.”

He looked up and Hermione saw tears in eyes that did not shed them easily. “They’re desperate Hermione. If they don’t get away they’re going to die. Tonight, I can help them.” Another deep breathe  and he continued. “That’s all I really know, that they’re desperate and trying to flee. And I can help them.”

Many, many thoughts of how this was a bad idea flowed through her mind then. Yet, somehow she thought she could trust her friend tonight. Despite the dangers,  there was an excitement in the air as she watched the cadence of the light flicker momentarily, then start to grow. “Was that it, is it starting?”

“No, but I think it’s started to pull from something now. It’s drawing power from the castle now. And something deeper too.”

With a breathy gasp,  she connected the dots in her head. “The ley-lines! Seven lines meet under the castle, that’s why it was built here. It’s the most magically powerful location in the world. You must be able to feel something through the runic circle, can you tell how much power it’s going to take?”

“You’re right, I can feel something from the circle, it’s like it was made just for me, I can feel it starting to suck up as much power as it can to break through.” Closing his eyes again, he focused for a moment. “Holy crap! I don’t know how to express what I’m feeling, but this is a huge power requirement. Like if I stopped halfway through the castle, Hogsmead, and the nearest mountain would be gone from the backlash.” Not even seeing his best friend’s face pale, he continued. “And! That’s nothing, nothing, to what’s powering it on the other side. We’re mostly just receiving what’s been sent, I think.”

More trepidation built in both of them, though neither said anything else for a time as the light increased and an odd hum built in the air. For Harry, this was a great experience as he felt the vast amounts of magic ebb and flow, ready to be sent forth at his command. Then he felt it. 

“Hermione, get back! It’s coming now!” Trusting her to stay back far enough, he directed his circle to grab the “line” for lack of a better term, and meld with it. A great light show caused him to focus momentarily on the center of the circle. In the air above, a circle formed.  For a moment it was perfectly round, then it distorted into an ellipse. 

Inside the ellipse there was nothing for a moment, and Harry felt like something was fighting him. In  response , he directed more and more power through the circle, and called for  more  to be brought up from the earth below. Sweat started to bead on him as the air inside the ellipse shifted, w arped, and then finally _ tore _ and suddenly it was done. A great rush of hot, humid air swept through, carrying with it the scent of dust and others unknown. However it worked, the feedback from the runic circle told him it was stable and would remain  so for some time. He stood up, stretching his sore back and realizi ng he had nothing to wipe the sweat off himself. 

As he started at the portal, he felt an odd sense of calm and anticipation flow through him. It was about six feet tall, and four feet wide at the widest point. The exterior was was a dark blue, cobalt some might call it. Inside that border, it was sky blue and slowly swirling. Looking to his best friend, he saw he standing beside him, looking hesitant. When she briefly met his eyes before turning back to the work of magic before them, she spoke to him. 

“Well, at least it doesn’t  _ look _ like something that’s going to bring in demonic armies or something such. It’s actually sort of beautiful.”

Grabbing her hand as they watched it continue to swirl calmly, he responded. “You’re right. When I stare at it, I feel calm. And there’s something else, but I’m not sure how to say it.”

Not looking away, she prompted him to share when he’d felt like this before. “ Like when I was waiting on my broom for one of those early games second year. When I knew I could win if I played well, and I didn’t need to worry about being the ‘Heir of Slytherin,’ at least for a while. When all that stood before me was something I could accomplish if I played hard and  _ worked _ for it.” Maybe H ermione didn’t  fully understand what he was saying, but she could grasp the general idea. She just held his hand a bit tighter as they waited.

They didn’t have long to wait, standing there before the gently shifting blue light.  With no apparent change in the portal itself, a  mostly purple  quadrupedal figure came through, stumbling on the last step. It seemed as if he was in great pain, as he didn’t even seem to see anything, simply walking a dozen feet from the portal before his legs gave out. 

As he met the floor, his eyes seemed to track between the portal, the runic circle below, and the two teenagers standing before it. He briefly took in the scent of sweat before  tiredly raising his right claw to his face and speaking towards a small stone c lasped in his claw.  He spoke in Draconic, not having any idea what language the humans might speak, and not rightly caring just now.  _ Đ: “Come on through, just keep your wings tight and help Talion through first, bring all the supplies, especially the sphere.  _ _ And leave the speak-stone paired with this one behind in plain view in front of the portal. _ _ ”  _

Ignored for the moment, the two teens were gaping in shock. This was a dragon, albeit much smaller than the ones they’re seen the previous year. And it was  _ speaking _ . Quickly pulling out his wand, Harry nudged Hermione. “Get ready to use a levitation spell. I caught something there about wing placement and maybe an injured one coming next.”  Not even really surprised at this point, she had her wand in hand as a second dragon, this one black and what would probably be brilliant orange after some cleaning  came through . 

Instead of walking, this one seemed almost to have been thrown, but was luckily caught by the bare chested teen. With a bit of care, he was l evitated further from the portal, near the first one that came through. A third came through shortly after that, dark blue with just a hint of a purple strip along it’s side.  Harry quickly noticed the bandage on her throat that seemed to be leaking a bit. This one carried several bags and a pink sphere about three feet across, an odd item to be sure. Especially since, upon closer inspection, it matched a much smaller version around  the first dragon’s neck. Fourthly, and last for now, was a purple dragon with the same colors and markings as the first. She was positively laden with bags. Once through, she sloughed some off and fell to the floor, breathing heavily.

The two teens could see the first one stand  on trembling legs  and check on each of the three as they now all laid on the cool stone, breathing heavily. Reaching t he blue one , he looked to  the f ilthy bandage in dismay, the light in the chamber revealing the dirt caught in it. He looked at Harry, having g uessed him as the leader and then looked back at the filthy bandage. 

Replying to that silent request, H arry muttered out: “Well, if that isn’t a request for help, I don’t know what is. Dobby!” After the small guy popped out, startling only Hermione, he spoke in a commanding voice. “Dobby, I need clean bandages, h ot water, disinfectant and some towels. After you get that, I need some water for these guys here. Be careful not to startle them; they’re capable of speech but they’re not in such great shape, okay?” 

With a silent nod, the h ouse elf popped away. “Hermione, give me a bit of help with the throat wound and then start looking over the orange one, okay? And if the room can conjure books, give me a phrase that would get us any relevant information to help them.”

Finding herself oddly happy to follow her best friend’s lead, she nodded and thought for only a moment. “We could use an indexed collection of guides to treat  injuries of  reptilian magical creatures. Sorry, but that’s the best I can think of, these  four  might l ook like dragon s , but they’re different enough that any specialized spells would probably be wrong.”

Acknowledging with a nod, he decided to just ask the room verbally  for what he needed. Low and behold, a wall appeared laden with books, with one on a pedestal in front with a guide to what was there. Also a few drains, because he figured this was going to get messy. Dobby came back quickly bearing buckets of water and towels, followed then by bandages and then more water that he carefully floated in front of the dragons. 

Four sets (minus one that was swollen shut) of  eyes  watched them mistrustfully, as Harry approached what he figured as the leader, towels and bandages under his arms and steaming buckets in his hands. Locking eyes, the dragon motioned for the most injured one to lay down,  and gently coaxed her when she hesitated. “Harry, I’m concerned that the orange one has broken ribs at least, and possibly internal injuries. As soon as this one’s safe I’ll see what I can do. Shouldn’t we get them some help beyond the two of us? There might be serious injuries here.”

Sighing as they reached the blue female, he gently started to unwind her old b andages under the watch of the vigilant male. “Who? Hermione, Hagrid can not keep a secret for the life of him  even if he was here . In third year, the Ministry wanted to kill Buckbeak on Malfoy’s whim, just to hurt Hagrid. What do you think they’ll do to these creatures now with Umbridge  here now?”

That was enough for her to actually wince. “You’re right, other than a few students, who, once again, probably couldn’t keep the secret you’re right. Where will we hide them?” 

“We can worry about that later. Just remember not to make any sudden moves or startle them. They’re obviously intelligent, but have been through a lot. I’d guess a war, looking at some of those older scars. I don’t think they were winning either. I just hope Dobby can get everything we need here.”

For a long time, words weren’t needed. Between so much time spent in the infirmary and Hagrid’s creature care class, they were able to work quickly and effectively. Some infection had set in on the neck wound, but apparently the creatures understood disinfectant because when Harry motioned to the watchful one to hold her still he did while he poured it on. The wound was quickly dried and wrapped in clean bandages, and Hermione moved on while Harry stayed to check for other wounds. He cleaned her as he went, using a spell to conjure hot water to wash scales as he found that she liked it hot best. There was a lot of steam coming up as dirt and grime came off.

By the time Harry had finished cleaning her,  and he knew for certain now she was a female, everywhere and binding a few other minor wounds, she was soundly asleep. The one watching snorted when her wing, with a membrane that really wasn’t as delicate as it first looked, tried to hold Harry close as she slept. He thought their  anatomy was a bit odd, certainly they were like no species  that lived on Earth  as far as he knew . Seeing Hermione sitting cross-legged by the side of the orange and black dragon with a book in her lap and tapping her wand he figured she had that one under control for now. He moved on to the other purple dragon, guessing from knowing himself that the watcher would want his friends cared for first. 

He supposed from the markings that this one was at least a full sibling maybe a twin or however that worked with their kind, of the one that was watching them as if daring the teens to hurt his friends. He heard Hermione stand up and walk over to him after casting a few spells he didn’t catch; when she joined him, she ran her hands along its purple side, frowning.

“Yeah, I know. The blue female was too thin also. What do you think to start them on as far as food? Maybe rabbits if we can get them?”

“Hmm, something small like that would probably be best to start. We really have no idea what might make them sick, but if that doesn’t hurt them, we can move them up to deer pretty quickly. I wanted to ask how you got the hot-water _Aquementi_ to cast. _”_

_ “ _ Slow down during the last third of the wand movement and focus on getting it hot. She liked it really hot, like almost hot enough to burn my skin, so stand back far enough it doesn’t splash back on you.”

“Well, she certainly looks more comfortable now, I think I’ll try it over that far drain a few times. You found a few other things to treat under all that grime, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, these guys haven’t had time to take care of themselves for far too long. Just be careful, I thought she might be going into shock or something like this one is, see the tremors? Enough hot water helped and she nodded off. But stay far away from the nose, I had to use some c loths instead when she started to panic.” 

There weren’t any major injuries on this one, some odd scaring though. A few minor things that needed some treating, but the hot water did the trick and she was sound asleep, not even waking with the minor touches of antiseptic. It took time, though. As Harry stopped and stood, he saw his best friend had nodded off right there on the floor. Concerned, he  knew why when he felt the bone-deep comforting heat seeping off the orange dragon. 

_ Hmm, a different breed,  _ _ species, race?  _ _ than the others I guess, even if they have mostly similar features.  _ _ Well, Hermione did a good job here, his breathing sounds good and it looks like she found something to help with the bones. I wish I had a… _ Out of nowhere a blanket appeared and he cast a quick cushioning charm on the floor before draping the blanket over his friend and slipping a pillow under her head quietly. Turning back to the lone dragon still awake he motioned them over to the far drain. He could tell it was hesitant about being touched, but it had a good idea of what was coming, and hot water would feel so much better than slipping into a cold creek as he’d been doing his whole life. 

Against his will, Ralion felt every muscle touched by the water relax as the human mage  stated to  _ clean _ him, of all things. He didn’t understand why he’d do this, why he was being helped, being comforted, after all the horrific things he’d done.  Tendrion had said he’d hoped Ralion would understand someday, he didn’t know his brother had  _ hated him. _

His friends, his little flight, were free of their world. Well, he thought as his eyes turned towards the portal, as long as it didn’t follow t hem . To be honest, Ralion had felt the veil in his mind start to pull away as he arrived but had focused on those his brother had trusted him to look after, only now as his body’s tension started to ease did he start to look inward. 

So many memories, so many times he’d killed, caused pain and  _ reveled _ in it. He could see so much more wisdom in what Tendrion had tried to teach him now. He was a monster. He couldn’t imagine why his brother had stayed with him.  _ Those last words of Cenarius, Tendrion had  _ _ probably _ _ been helping the ‘good guys’ for a long time now.  _ _ I wish I’d been there, helping to wash some of this blood off my hands. _ He started to scra pe at his forearms, quickly becoming frantic.

Harry didn’t know quite what to do when the dragon he was cleaning started to shudder before starting to scrape at himself, quickly drawing blood. Not wanting to have those talons turned on him, they were  _ sharp _ , but not being able to ignore the self-harm he  cut off the water and moved to his front and gently moved the dragon’s head and found himself looking into wide, terrified eyes. 

_ Shit. I have no idea what I’m doing here, dear Merlin let my best be enough.  _ Making sure to keep his face welcoming, he focused on the creature before him and spoke from his heart.  _ Ƥ: “Stop. Stop Hurting yourself, please.” _

Never having encountered a magical  language other than Draconic, the shock was enough to get Ralion to stop tearing into his own arms long enough for Harry to quickly clean the new wounds and bandage them. Those kind eyes that kept looking into his didn’t hurt either. He didn’t actually understand the whole phrase, but “Stop” and “Please” were enough to grasp it was a request to stop the self-mutilation. 

As the boy did some spell to dry them both and the ground below them  h e suddenly felt heavier than ever before. Aggravating a few bruises, he let his weight go out as he hit the floor.  _ Đ:”And why not? I’m a monster, I’ve always been a monster,  _ _ I  _ _ just never  _ _ saw _ _ it before.” _

Harry was able to make out the words “ Why,”  “monster” and “see” out of that. He could guess the creature thought he was a monster  but was confused by the rest. Nevertheless, keeping him talking seemed like a good idea. He was pretty sure he’d slipped into Parseltongue there, so he looked into those scared blue eyes and focused on making himself understood. 

_ Ƥ _ _ : “Tell me why you’re a monster, I can only get a few words out of what you’re saying, but _ try _ , please.” _

At least one of them was getting better at whatever they were doing, Ralion thought. He looked the boy right in his far too caring eyes and spoke as slowly as he could to make him understand why he should hate the creature before him. _ Đ: “I’m a killer, I’ve killed and tortured and  _ enjoyed  _ it! That’s what I’ve done and thought all my life! I’ve served evil in it’s most true form!  _ _ I enjoyed it!  _ _ Never  _ _ even had a second thought _ _ !” _

Back in Harry’s head he mulled over what had been said, and what he understood. It was painting an awful picture. Suddenly he thought back to his lessons the previous year, and what was a toss-up for both most effective and most evil Defense A gainst the Dark Arts teacher. (Remus got points for teach ing the Patronus, but in hindsight that should have been taught to a lot more students.  Voldemort was pretty evil, but lost points for e xisting as a boil on the back of Quirrel. ) 

This gave him an idea, because he was pretty sure his new acquaintance was describing something similar. _Ƥ_ _: “_ _My people have a spell, an evil spell that earns its caster life imprisonment. It forces a target to obey any command. It can make people kill their families, end their own lives, commit any crime. But, it’s the caster at fault, not the one it’s used on. The one it’s used on is the_ **victim** , _the same as anyone they hurt while it’s in effect. Do you understand?”_

_ Đ: “ _ _ Say that again, please?” _ And Harry did. At this point he was willing to repeat himself as many times as he needed if it would help. 

After a third repetition that was easier to understand than the one before it, and in turn better than the previous; Ralion thought he understood. _Đ:_ _“_ _But I can feel the whelps flesh tearing_ _in my talons, the fear of drakes with torn wings falling to their deaths. I felt joy! I was happy being the cause of their deaths!”_

Harry had heard that almost perfectly. He gently interrupted.  _Ƥ: “_ _And what changed? You don’t seem happy about it now.”_

Comprehension was catching, it seemed. Ralion answered as best he could though the answer bothered him.  _ Đ: “ _ _ I stepped through that portal. I’m so far from home, only Elune knows. I, never, never want to go home. I can’t...” _

_ Ƥ _ _ : “ _ _ If whatever magic was done to you only let you free once you came here, then no, you can’t. I’ll help you however you can, but life’s not perfect here either. There’s people in this castle that would have you killed because only because it would  _ **hurt me** ,  _ that it would be one more time where I couldn’t save someone.  _ _ I can get you out, but people would look at you and only see an animal, an animal that they can’t let most of the world see. We have things we call dragons, and they’re sort of like you, but as far as I k _ _ now _ _ they’re actually just animals. But trusting what I’ve been told, what I’ve read… Well, don’t tell my friend this, but those sources can be wrong.” _

_ Đ: “ _ _ I can’t go home. All my kind, all the dragons that look like us, we’re evil. Maybe my brother wasn’t, but he’d have been the only one. We’ve been hunted by  _ _ a band of _ _ the ‘good’ guys for months now, as we were trying to flee. S _ _ oon _ _ , they’ll find the cave, the portal. I don’t know how I can convince them to spare us. Or even if I should. I had Vespiona,” _ He gestured to the peacefully sleeping purple drake.  _ “my sister, leave the other speak-stone  _ _ by the portal. _ _ ”  _ Here he handed the small stone still adhering to his right talon until he removed it to Harry. “ _ I just don’t know what to do, I’m so tired. So very  _ **worn** .”

_ Ƥ _ _ : “ _ _ Get some sleep then. I had a weird dream just before I came here to open the gate on this side, I’ve got enough rest in me to be fine for a long time yet. Tell me how to use the stone and I’ll try to talk them down.” _

Ralion was so rung out at this point he could barely keep his eyes open.  _ Đ: “ _ _ Just channel a little magic in and speak. It’s a simple version cause I don’t have great control of my magic. As long as that Wyrmrest team doesn’t touch the water they’ll be fine. And, thank you, so very, very much.” _

He was asleep before he even finished laying his head down,  but Harry was quick with a cushioning charm. At a ‘loud’ thought, he had some heated blankets to place over the drakes, a little extra heat ought to at least keep their muscles relaxed, if nothing else. That done, after quietly checking that his best friend was still asleep he stripped quickly after asking Dobby for a few things from his room. Though, the Room beat the little guy to some comfortable lounge-wear. Poor little Dobby was a bit ticked at that. 

He was thinking of so many other things he didn’t think to ask the room for a screen or shower head, just washed in the spray from his own wand. The room had warmed from all the steam so he didn’t think much of leaving his shirt off. He didn’t have any homework with him, or any urge to do any either. Before he sat down and tried to think, he a sked Dobby to fetch the small mirror his godfather had given him.  With it in his hand, he spoke directly into the mirror he spoke one name: “Sirius Black.”

It took a few moments, but a man with a clear case of bed-hair and a beard that looked much better than the first time they met answered. “Harry! Is everything all right? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine Sirius. But I’ve had a long night, and could use someone to talk to. Before that, I need to do something, can just do me a huge favor and not say anything for a bit? I need to check something and you can see what I’ve been up to.” Giving Harry a nod, so pleased to be  a part of something, to have some news, Sirius silenced his end of the mirror, and was glad he did. He did not see anything close to what he expected when his godson called without a shirt on at f our in the morning . 

Harry gathered up some bandages, and walked back to where the dragon who’s name he still didn’t know was soundly sleeping under a heated blanket. Setting the mirror down, Sirius saw him remove the bandage, clean the wound again and carefully wrap it again. Swinging the mirror around, he showed Sirius all four drakes, Hermione asleep on a cushioning charm, and the slowly swirling portal. Moving to the farthest corner of the room, he sank gratefully into a plush r ecliner that appeared as  soon as he had a need of it. 

When he sank down into the chair he turned the mirror over to show his godfather’s gobsmacked face. “Yeah, I know. That’s sort of how I feel right now.”

Quickly waving his wand to dispel the one-way silencing charm, Sirius really didn’t know where to start.  “Those are real, breathing dragons. That you’ve bandaged up, and put to bed like little kids. You  _ have _ had an interesting night.”

The teenager let out a short laugh. “You don’t know the half of it, g od father. I think I also just talked one down from killing or at least maiming himself. I’ve never been so happy to be a parselmouth as I was when I talked to the male with the purple wings tonight.”

“They speak parseltongue? Wait, why would a dragon kill itself? Why would it listen to you? No offense.”

Harry shrugged. “In order: They don’t, not exactly. But we started out hearing a word or two when the other spoke, then it got better. The last time he talked, I only missed a word or two, and not the important ones. For why it was tearing its arms apart, I think it’s been a victim of something like the Imperious, but worse. For a really, really long time. Years maybe. Or it’s whole life. I don’t know, didn’t seem important at the time.”

“Wait, worse than the Imperious? I’m going to regret this, but how do you get worse than an unforgivable?”

“Well,” Harry started ticking off points on his fingers. “apparently, it’s race wide. He said all the dragons  that looked like them were evil. Also, there’s only been one of them that might, might have been free of it, and it was that one’s brother, but he might have meant brother not in the blood relation way. I don’t know what happened to him, but he’s not here and they don’t seem to expect him to catch up. Oh, and apparently whatever spell he was under didn’t just make him do horrible things, it made him  _ like _ doing horrible things.  He talked about feeling  _ joy _ as he killed what I think is  a child in their species. ”

The horror was starkly written on Sirius’s face. “Yeah, shit, I can see that being worse. And it explains the suicide attempt too. I’d watch them all, something like that is going to leave scars like Azkaban did to me. Shit, that’ s even _ worse. _ How’d you talk them down? And where are you? I’ve never seen a room with a blue swirling thing in it at Hogwarts before.”

“Still in the castle, for now. There’s a room here I just found that becomes whatever you need. I had a really strange, peaceful dream tonight, and after an hour or so of rest I feel more rested than I can ever remember being. I raced here with Hermione, and I got the Room here to make this runic circle on the floor over there.

“It turns out it’s some kind of receiving rune array, not in any language Hermione’s ever seen before though. It sucked up a HUGE amount of power just to open the portal on this side. When I was using it, I could sort of feel what was going on. There was more power than I can express opening the door on the other side. As for talking him down, I told him about the Imperious curse, how the people who are under it are victims, them and the people they hurt. I think he understood, cause he gave me this little stone and passed out.”

“What’s the stone do? And if  it took as much power as I’m thinking, people will definitely have noticed. It came to you in a dream? I have no idea what to make of that, but in that case the peaceful and restful part is probably a good thing. But Harry, opening a portal to, it sounds like, another world? The Ministry will-”

“I KNOW what they’ll do Sirius!” Harry snarled out, losing his composure. “I know I’m in the middle of the war and I have no one that’s both  _ willing _ and  _ able _ to help me! I know I’m one wrong step away from Merlin know s what with Umbridge, and she’s picking at me EVERY time I see her! I know the headmaster won’t help me! 

“It’s not like he was there with Voldermort my first year, and while I was really grateful Fawk e s showed up  with the sorting hat when I was fighting a GIANT FUCKING BASILISK my second year, a rooster would have been more useful. OR a squad of TRAINED  AURORS ! Or any plan that didn’t involve stabbing the world’s DEADLIEST SNAKE with a fucking sword! It’s not like it didn’t BITE ME! At least Fawk e s saved me, but for a while there I was so sure I was going to die.  I didn’t even get to keep the sword I pulled out of the hat! 

“ And when I told him you were innocent, he gave me VAGUE FUCKING HINTS, and locked me in the infirmary with my best friend. Yeah, at least you didn’t get your  soul sucked out, but you’d think the GRAND WARLOCK that people seem to GODDAMN WORSHIP could have told people you didn’t get a trial and ACTUALLY go tten you one! And last year speaks for itself. What help did I get from the staff? Oh Harry, there’s dragons! Everything else I got from the fucking death eater hiding as Dumbledore’s BEST FRIEND! And the rest of the staff, when everyone thought I’d cheated to get into that death trap, when I was the heir of Slytherin, a few moments to make an announcement was too much to ask. 

“Not to mention that all these people knew my parents, and Hagrid’s been the only one to tell me anything about them really. Remus pretended not to know me, like I was just some other student he was teaching.” Harry was starting to wind down now, but he felt a little better, like he’d been holding that in for far too long. “And Snape’s hated me since the first day I got here, and he shows it! And it’s not like he even teaches, just puts things on the board.” He took a few slow, deep breaths.

“I know, I know what  wi ll happen if the ministry knows about this. I know I can’t expect any help from any adults. I know that you’d try, and that means  _ so much _ to me, but they’d  do worse than kill you and I can’t have that on my conscience,  _ please _ .”  He took a few moments to calm down, focusing on calming his breathing helped. “ I’m sorry about that, I should n’t have lost my temper. I know I can’t do that where anyone can see me or it’ll be even more ‘dangerously unhinged Harry’ all across the papers. It’s just been getting to me.”

Unknown to the conversing two, five sets of ears (well, one set of ears and four sets of armored bone plates that served the same purpose) had heard everything since he started shouting. Only one understood, but the others had heard some of the desperation  and had exception al memories. When they learned to speak this language, they’d know what had been said.  After making sure they’d remember what was said they started to fall back to sleep, one by one.  Ralion thought back to what  the human said about people that would kill others just to hurt him. He seemed like a good man, but he wasn’t among friends. 

Sirius suddenly felt very old and very useless.  In that rant he saw a boy under massive amounts of stress, barely holding it together now. If things kept up like this… Well, that wasn’t a nice thought. Everyone breaks eventually. 

“ Harry,” He started out, as serious as he’d ever been. “do you want to leave? All this mess, it shouldn’t be your job to fix. You’ve only had four years of magical education so far, and I’ve heard at least two of your Professors were shit. I can probably get us out of the country, if you can make it to Hogsmead. Heck, you might be able to get the minister to kick you out if you asked, maybe stick him with a magical contract with fine print to get your new friends escorted out. At least we could hide them in a trunk and take them with us. 

“The Blacks have an island we can fortify the hell out of, hire tutors and everything. You wouldn’t have to come back to England ever if you didn’t want to. This war shouldn’t be  _ your _ burden. I hate to say it, but if the people don’t fight for themselves, they don’t deserve your help either. If you want, I can be in Hogsmead tonight. Give me a little practice with making illegal portkeys and we can be out this time tomorrow.” 

It took a few moments of thought for Harry to realize that  the offer was far, far, more tempting than it should have been. When he spoke he was hesitant, and he turned the mirror around to show the portal. 

“I can’t go yet. The portal needs to degrade, not be forced closed. If it destabilizes,  say  goodbye to everything for at least a few miles. And there’s the problem of what my new friend called “the good guys,” that are hunting down dragons that were evil until they entered that portal. They’re due within a few days, and there’s some kind of magic stone that’s sorta like these mirrors on the other side matching the one I have in my other hand. I at least need to talk them down, or use the room here against them if I can’t. Let me get past the weekend and I’ll let you know, okay?

“ I just feel like I could use a few days away from everything going on. Since I might need to use this room, I might move the dragons into the Chamber of Secrets, but there’s a cave-in I’m not sure how to deal with blocking the way. Oh, and the big snake’s probably still there. I’m not sure what to do about all the students and rumors that’ll pop up though.”

“I’d ask the twins to help you. They seem like good guys, if you can slip them a note they can probably think of something. If you can trust me, I think I can get some help to deal with a cave-in. Hard part will be getting them to actually listen to me.”

“Don’t you have an insane house-elf? Maybe you could get him to help with a careful direct order. Or, make him tell you what he’d want in exchange for helping you? I’m not all that comfortable with how a lot of pure-bloods treat their  elves to be honest. They  _ are _ people  of a sort .”

“Good idea Harry. I, I have a lot of bad memories involving Kreature. But, I  should remember that house elves  _ can’t _ disobey orders. He’s still probably a miserable being, but he didn’t have a choice in much in his life. Thanks again.  Anything else you want to get off your chest? Or that I can give advice for? I really don’t know how to help with those dragon hunters, if all else fails and you can’t turn them around you might let them into the castle proper. Let them be Dumbledore’s problem instead.”

“No, thanks Sirius. Thanks for listening. I really needed a chance to vent. I need to get something for these guys to eat, and to get a hold of the twins now before most people wake up. I’ll let you know things go here, okay?”

“P lease do, now let’s go manage some mischief! Padfoot out!” Sirius signed off with a stupid grin and a salute that actually made Harry smile.

After thinking for a moment, he tried to make the Room of Requirement produce some food, but got nothing. Giving up on that after a bit, it turned out that Dobby was more than happy to deliver notes and collect some food. “Dobby, thank you so much. I don’t think I could have pulled this off without you. Is there anything I can do for you in return? I can pay you or just give you my friendship or something else if you want.”

“Dobby is so happy to be helping a good wizard. Dobby not want pay, but maybe some day the Great Wizard Harry Potter would bond Dobby to his family? Dobby is loving being free for now, but thinks he would miss Purpose and Family later.”

Even  through the elf’s odd speech and inflections, Harry caught the capital letters in those words. This was food for thought. “I’d have to think about it, but I don’t think I’d mind if it was really what you wanted. I give you my word to be a better master than the Malfoys, if you decide this is what you want. I don’t know how to convince Hermione though. She has strong feelings about house elves.”

“She-who-knits does not understand. Dobby not know how to make her either.”

Internally amused and horrified about Hermione’s hyphenated title, Harry tried hard to keep his face blank as he wrote out a clear, concise not e to the twins, asking them for a bit of help covering for him and Hermione’s absence for a few days. Thankfully it  _ was  _ the weekend. Looking back at the dragons sleeping, he tried to think of what else he should be doing. A bit of effort later the portal had a slightly opaque barrier around it, and some sleeping potions ready to throw in through small holes. 

As he got comfortable in his chair he asked for, and got, a book on mind-healing, specifically dealing with long-term Imperious victims. There was a lot he didn’t grasp at first, so he started to make notes in a binder that showed up as he needed it, and started using another book that was suddenly to his left side to make sense of the terminology he couldn’t decipher.  At another thought, and kicking himself a bit for thinking of this  _ after _ getting clean, the Room added a full bath to the corner. Not even looking, he decided to ask, as vaguely as he could, for working toilets for the dragon’s anatomy. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Back in a dark depressing house in London,  Sirius got to his own business. Deciding to be direct, he called his u nwilling servant. It took some time for him to appear, but eventually he did. Clearing his throat, he decided to be direct. “Kreacher, I directly order you to tell me what I can do to earn or gain your loyalty as a Master you would be willing to serve.” He did not expect the answer. By the end of the whole tale, he really wished he could stop and get drunk. Instead he looked the small guy in the eyes and held the house-elf’s defiant, angry gaze. 

“Kreacher, if you agree to serve me and my heir, I will help you complete my brother’s Last T ask . I wish he’d come to me that night, I wish we’d been close enough that he would have. I loved my brother, more than I’d admit to most people.  If you give me a week, we can see how that locket stands up to Basilisk venom or Dragon fire. You think one of those would do the job?” 

Smiling at the enthusiastic head nod, he continued. “But, you will work with me until then. If I fail I don’t expect your help  ever again , but if we do I want your real loyalty. Harry Potter is my heir, and he’s the best chance the house of Black has. The only other possible heir is a pathetic snot named Draco Malfoy. If you agree to serve me, after today I want you to go to Hogwarts and, without being seen by  _ anyone _ compare the two. See which would make the house stronger. You might not know this, but Harry is a parselmouth. He’s doing something interesting right now actually.  So, will you agree to work with me?”

“Kreacher agrees, for now. He will even follow if bad master can do what he said.”

Smiling at the elf, even though it turned his stomach to do so, Sirius gave the first commands he actually expected the crazy little guy to follow. “I need a room cleaned a bit. Later in the day you’re going to ‘invite’ one of the professors from Hogwarts that seems to have continually failed my heir.  She won’t need her wand. We’re going to have a discussion, and she’s either going to sign a contract that will force her to give my godson some god-damn help, or she’s going to be obliviate d and I won’t mind if she’s a bit bruised on the way back.  Grab me a book on contracts and then go ahead with your first task. We can’t let anyone know what’s going on, especially the ‘guests.’” 

Kreacher left quickly after that smiling. It wasn’t a nice smile, but Sirius got his book and  got to work. Since he had a basic idea for a framework already it didn’t take long. It was a bit of trick ery , he was essentially going to get Minerva to agree to help Harry hide his new friends and give him some actual support. He was pretty sure he could get her to sign something that would make her trust Harry to handle any situation so long as he had dealt with a worse problem on his own before. 

Considering that Dark Lords, Dementors, and giant snakes had already been taken care of in the past; that ought to give Harry some real leeway. He’d check with Harry first. Poor boy could really use a say about _something_ in his life. About four hours later he stretched and stood. He was done, and he’d grab a bit of food and come back to call Harry. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Time passed, and a lot of what Harry found boiled down to that it was going to be a long road for recovery, that having someone to talk to was important, and that finding a purpose could help victims going forward. When the breakfast hour came, he found Dobby had slipped into the room without him knowing about it until he caught a smell that made his stomach rumble. On a small table was all the fixings of a full English breakfast, heavy on meats; on a different table was a pile of rabbits, some cleaned and some not. 

Shrugging, Harry gathered himself a plate and went back to his research. He’d been marking on the pages in some places, folding others. Usually he’d be more careful, but it seemed like this was a conjured or some such book, so he marked as felt useful. As he went, he found himself more and more intrigued by the path of the mind-healer.

Bent over the book as he was, he didn’t notice his best friend until he felt her hair brush his face as she leaned over his shoulder. Seeing she was reading, he asked the room for another chair and that his table be a little longer. Still rather tired, she simply slid in and he turned the book as he pulled out his wand  and summoned a pitcher of coffee and two mugs. When her eyebrows went up inquisitively, he just looked at her a moment. “You look like you could use something stronger today. It  _ was _ a long night. You did a great job on the orange  one by the way. What all was wrong with him?”

As she finished chewing on a strip of bacon stolen from his plate, and taking a small sip of hot coffee, Hermione finally turned her attention from the book. “A couple of broken ribs, a little internal damage, I don’t know if that would have killed him or not in the long run. There was a few smaller things wrong with the legs on one side, but they’ll heal pretty quickly with a bit of treatment. I thought spells rather than potions was the way to go, we don’t really know how they’ll affect them. Do I want to know why you’re studying this book harder than  I’ve seen you  study anything before ? The  contents and your notes seem... ominous.”

Harry concisely filled her in on what the dragon had said to him in the night. “I’m glad that we can understand each other a bit better now. I helped him as best as I could, but I’m not a trained mind healer. As soon as they’re up, I think we can get their names. I only know the female with the purple wings is “Vespiona” so far, and that she’s the leader’s sister. It’s an interesting name.”

Hermione chewed her lip a little, looking over at the dragons that seemed to be waking up a bit more, shifting in their sleep. “Hmm, it is. I wonder if there’s any meaning to it. I think you have the general right idea for helping them through this. If they never had a choice, they shouldn’t suffer for their actions.” Looking at the portal for a moment, she shuddered. “It’s terrifying that something could even _ do  _ that, let alone  _ would. _ How else can we secure the portal?”

Sharing her anxiety, Harry had some coffee himself before continuing. “I’ve asked the room to seal it for the moment, there’s some sleeping solution that can be poured in. If the room did what I wanted, the potion should release a gas  and knock out whatever comes through. On the plus side, we’re sort of expecting the “good guys” to catch up to these dragons shortly, so that might keep any horrid evils from coming in.

“I’m not sure how things are going to go when they turn up,  but t hings seem safe enough for the moment, I think the portal’s in a cave on the other end from the scents that first rush of air brought. I wanted to ask you for your thoughts before I tried anything else.” He stood for a moment, taking his now empty plate and returning shortly with two  full ones , after sitting near her for over four years now he knew what his friend liked in her breakfast.

A companionable quiet bloom as they ate and thought. Finally, Hermione spoke: “I think a Fidelius charm on the other side of the portal would work best but I doubt we could cast it. That would probably keep us safe, and maybe some wards to act behind it? Aversion wards or such. I’ll see what I can find in the...” She paused as a two thick tomes dropped to the table in front of her. Harry took the old, untitled one and pushed the other, titled ‘A Collection of ye Most Useful Wards’ in front of his friend. “Library. Okay, I admit that’s handy.” She completed her thought before diving in, Harry passing her some paper and a pen for notes.

By now  the first reptilian eyes had opened. Talion was the first awake, unfamiliar places had become h is norm so he was cautious as he came to, checking his surroundings as best he could before standing to see around. It briefly amused him that he shook off a blanket that was... warm? Well he certainly appreciated the thought,  and he’d think more about that later, but breakfast called. He certainly didn’t expect what he found. 

Those teens were pouring over a collection of books, and he thought back to the previous night, where the female spent a lot of time trying to find the right spell. Given that he could breathe much easier and even stand with almost no pain, she had done well. Ignoring the food for a moment, he moved to stand before her, across the table and bowed. With his  anatomy , this consisted of moving his front low, curling his head to show his neck, and spreading wings wide. When she smiled at him and motioned to the food he rose, nodded at her, and moved to finally fill his stomach. Hmm, they had rabbits? Not something he’d had before, too fast,  too little meat to bother chasing. But as he  bit the first one in half and swallowed, it wasn’t bad. 

Harry Potter had a smirk on his face as the dragon with the beautiful (or handsome,  possibly ) orange markings turned away. He was about to  make a  snark y comment at Hermione, when he saw her go a bit  green. ‘ _ Ah. Well, certainly a natural carnivore then. If the teeth and talons didn’t give it away.’ _ “Try not to let it bother you, we can talk about table manners later. They’re going to be staying, at least on this world, so we have time.”

Going back to their books,  neither tried to listen in as a second, then a third of them stirred. Harry had begun reading the casting requirements of the F idelius charm before he noticed the lead dragon bringing a cleaned rabbit over to the one that was still laying down, having apparently proven too weak to get up on her own. Putting a loose page in the book to keep his place he went over to see how he could help. 

Seeing that  her conscious was a good thing, though she was very weak. Quickly getting a pitcher of water and a bowl, he shrugged and snagged the rabbit from the Leader and after a thought, and having seen the other eat the rabbit bones and a ll , he used a spell he’d seen Molly Weasley use in her kitchen, but certainly not on a whole rabbit. Now with a bowl of rabbit paste he motioned for the Leader to help keep her head up, then poured in the paste slowly. He refilled the bowl with water several times to get all the pieces in,  then repeated with another rabbit mush. Moving away briefly for something else, he returned with some bacon. When he showed a small transfiguration  of a pig and g ot a nod tore them up and placed them in her mouth and let her swallow. 

Her throat injury might pose a problem going forward, but he could still make out something like “Thank you.” Not even noticing his slip in Parseltongue, he let out a muffled “You’re welcome” before quickly checking her wound, very glad to see it had stopped leaking pus, and smelled much better than before. There was a scale or two that would be lost by the t ime it was completely healed , but it was looking up.  _ ‘ _ _ God  _ _ I love this room.’  _ He thought as he stepped back. A soft pillow had appeared under her,  and Harry helped her rest her head on it . Harry cleaned her wound again with hot water, dried it with a soft towel and left it open to the air for now. 

Getting the Leader’s attention again Harry spoke as quietly as he could.  _ Ƥ: “ _ _ I want her wound to breathe a bit. We’ll put fresh bandages on if it starts to bleed. I’m not sure how much she should eat right now. She needs enough in her to start replacing her blood. You guys are all too thin. And I remember that if you let someone who’s been starving eat too much too fast it can make things worse. Are the rabbits okay with you guys?” _

_ Đ: “ _ _ They’re fine. Are you worried about something making us sick? Unless it’s poisoned, you don’t really need to. Our guts are tough. We have rabbits at home, but they’re too small to bother hunting normally. Usually we eat deer  _ _ or elk or something. Anything without tainted or poisoned meat; and I’m pretty sure we’ve all survived eating some of that too. For Caliona, don’t worry, she’s tough. We might need to baby her for a few days but after that she’ll be fine.” _

_ Ƥ _ _ : “ _ _ That reminds me, I don’t think I’ve really introduced myself yet. My name is Harry Potter, and my best friend over there is Hermione Granger.  _ _ Right now you’re standing in Hogwarts Castle on the planet Earth.”  _

Ralion gave a short bow. _Đ: “_ _I am Ralion of the Twilight Dragonflight of Azeroth. Formerly a servant of what we call the Old Gods and their Cult. I was brother in blood and spirit of Tendrion, our former leader._ _Vespiona is my clutch-sister,”_ He gestures to the purple female. _“Caliona here with the wounded neck is also a Twilight Dragon. Talion is a Black Dragon, the first group of dragons to fall to the c_ _orruption_ _of the Old Gods.”_

_ Ƥ _ _ : “ _ _ It is nice to meet you Ralion.”  _ Harry gave a small bow. “ _ Right now, we’re working on magic to keep anything else from coming through the portal. I’ve found a charm, but I doubt I have enough power to cast it, so I’m thinking of touching the circle on the other side to draw enough power to do so. Am I right in assuming there’s a sister to the one here on the floor back where you left from?” _

Briefly examining the circle from behind the barrier, Ralion answered.  _ Đ:” _ _ Where did you get this?! The Draconic runes  _ _ are the perfect receiving array for what we did, unless you know of Draconic on this world, but without my kind...” _

_ Ƥ _ _ : “ _ _ I had a dream last night. I saw a forest in moonlight and figures in the distance, then I woke and knew I had to come here, to get this Room in this configuration to open the door. I was in a bit of a rush.  _ _ I had to stun one of the adults that usually walks the halls at night, but he’s an asshole anyway.”  _

Looking around, he saw that t he three mobile dragons had walked over to him  and he had their attention. Seeing Hermione f rom behind her book he asked for another chair and some comfortable mats for the dragons, and he decided to start a group therapy session. That book had said that repetition might be needed to get patients to believe that some things were not their fault.  He started by repeating his spiel about the Imperious from last night. Quickly his whole focus became talking with the dragons, trying to insure they understood, and that they didn’t feel the need to harm themselves.

Hermione stopped researching for a time, enjoying how the stress of the year so far seemed to fade f rom him now that Harry had a task he could accomplish.  She simply observed how he threw himself into helping people so wholeheartedly. Suddenly thinking back to last night, she decided to do everything she could to help Harry help these, well aliens would be the most accurate word. She knew her friend cared deeply, and he didn’t deserve to be hurt again. These four didn’t deserve it either. 

She was still l istening when the mirror laying on the table started to vibrate and let out a quiet “Harry Potter.” Luckily she knew that voice. Answering it wasn’t difficult, at least there wasn’t a strange password to it.

“Hello Sirius.” She answered with a small smile. “Is there anything pressing that you need? Harry’s… Well, I don’t speak the languages, but I think he’s having a group therapy session right now. And how strange is it that Harry’s having a counseling session with formerly evil dragons from another world, and it’s not enough to freak me out.”

Sirius couldn’t help but snort at that last night. “I’m still not completely sure  what to make of that. When he mirrored me at f our this morning without a shirt on, yourself and four dragons tucked into blankets on the floor was not what I expected. Is he doing alright? And also, if he’s busy, can you check a few things for me? First open the Marauder’s Map if you have it handy and see  if  the castle is going crazy or not outside where ever you are.”

Having no reason to argue she did. “He’s doing better than usual actually, he said something to me last night about tasks he could accomplish. It’s like he’s in his element now, like helping people is really what he lives for. Give me a moment. Hmm, Dumbledore is having a staff meeting in his office, everyone’s there but Umbridge. Where is… There she is, she’s meeting some Aurors at the gate it looks like. I see Tonks. Is this about the power flow through the wards with the portal?”

“Yeah, I’d imagine so. I’d stay in there for now if I were you. The Ministry  _ will _ kill, or do worse, to your new arrivals if they get a chance. Don’t trust any students from the Death Eater families or anyone close to the Ministry. I think you mentioned something about a Defense Association? I’ll send you a book I have on magical contracts so you can whip up something. Focus more on making it so they can’t betray you rather than  penalties for when they do. Because, trust me, with the Ministry so big, they will find someone  to lean on, even if they have to threaten loved ones to get to you.” 

Seeing the way her face fell, Sirius managed to guess what had happened. “Already put out a contract with that problem? Come up with a new one before the first meeting, copy it to a clean sheet of paper in front of them, and burn the old one with Incendio after they sign on to the new.”

“Thanks Sirius. Seems like that would have bit us at some point. Is everything well with you? Anything new you can tell us?”

“You mean is the Order doing anything? Anything at all? No, we’re doing nothing other than guarding the thing we have been. I can’t get them to even bother guarding muggleborn families. It’s like when I’m talking they’re hearing Greek instead.” She could see he was frustrated as he drug a hand through the stubble on his face. “Hermione, the more I find out about what his life had been like the worse it gets. Did Remus not  tell Harry that he knew him? Did the staff not do anything to dispel the rumors during the Tournament?”

“I don’t think Remus said anything to him, Harry had to beg him for Patronus lessons. And no, they did nothing then or when most of the school thought he was the “Heir of Slytherin” in second year. I’ve thought about asking Harry if we should move the dragons down into that chamber eventually.”

Sirius Black was uncharacteristically silent for a while. “Hermione, it feels like the whole world went mad while I was in hell. What you just confirmed about Remus and the staff, that’s unforgivable. It’s like the people I used to know are completely  different people now.  Even my brother, I was so sure he was a die-hard Death Eater; then this morning I found out the story of how he died.  Turns out, Regulus turned on Voldemort and  paid with his life .” 

Silence reigned for a time after that. Hermione, not having anything to say to that, turned the mirror so he could see Harry hissing off and on, now reaching out to touch a dragon that seemed to be breaking down into tears.  Whatever the language the dragons spoke was an odd one,  full of harsh tones .  After a long time of o bserving , Sirius spoke again. 

“He really is something, isn’t he? Hermione, I have a sort of plan. I think I can get Min erva to actually help Harry like she should have been doing for all these years. I’d like Harry to sign off on it first though, let him have some input on things that effect him. Can you tell him that I think I can get your head of house to sign a contract  so  that she’ll do her damn job and help, not pass the buck or go tattle so long as he’s handled something worse before.  Given the Basilisk at twelve, I don’t think she could have  _ any _ argument that he couldn’t manage a few little dragons.”

“I’m not really comfortable with that. But, if it helps, I won’t complain. Looking back a few words from her or the Headmaster could have dispelled most of those awful rumors and lightened Harry’s load considerably. I don’t know why they didn’t, to be honest.”

She turned the mirror back to see Sirius’s face when she heard him snort. Seeing her “Explain!” eyebrow come up, he voiced his thoughts. “I do. Last year it was easier  for Albus  to let Harry suffer being thought  a c heat than  admit he didn’t know what happened, to let anyone think it was  _ his _ failing that let The-Boy-Who-Lived be placed in danger, that the students under his care might not be perfectly safe. He didn’t even need to lie, his silence was enough to let people deceive themselves. And the only one it hurt was Harry. Does that sound about right for your second year too?” 

Hermione could only nod, she’d long had a habit of trusting those in authority,  and those habits left a sour taste in her mouth now .  Needing a moment, she saw that Harry’s group was taking a break. As she saw Harry motion to bathroom in the corner in response to some question, she stepped up to him as his group broke for relief and  some water. 

She did see that every kind of meat from the breakfast platter was gone, but she helped herself to a slice of melon as she walked over. “Hey Harry. Everything going well here? I’m sort of jealous that you can understand them, but I was watching and you’re doing great.”

“I think we’re doing as well as can be expected really. Would you be willing to do a bladder and bowel spell on Caliona? I’m not sure I could get it as right as you on the first cast. She lost enough blood from that neck wound that she’s too weak to do much. Ralion, the purple male, and the others are confident she’ll be fine in a few days, that she just needs some help until then.  I feel iffy about that, but they should know their biology better than I do. Oh, and we have names for all four.”

Harry  said, passing over a book dog-eared to a spell for human patients that lacked the ability to use the bathroom on their own. It was rather simple, but with the wand movements and positioning, she could see why he preferred a female to do it.  _ Not _ that she was terribly comfortable doing it herself, but given that this was for medical purposes she’d manage. “I’ll introduce them all properly in a moment.  I’ll give her the general idea of what you’re doing.”

“Thanks Harry. Sirius is on the mirror, so you should talk to him after you explain.” While Harry was hissing away she looked over the spell for a time. It was very simple really, and she was sure it would work the first time if she was careful. By the time she was ready to go, Harry was back at the table in discussion and one of the purple dragons was back. Taking a close look, Hermione was fairly sure this was the female that she had a name for. 

“V espiona ?” Turning her head, the female gave Hermione her full attention as Hermione turned her book around and began to get her point across that she needed Caliona  to shift onto her side for a moment.

Catching the gist of the conversation, the two male dragons chose to move towards Harry, not trying to listen in, the words didn’t mean much. They did hear their names once,  but shrugged that off. After conferring a bit, both of them believed Harry about people wanting to hurt them, after all, they’d seen the worst parts of people their whole lives already. All four had agreed to at least give this Harry Potter and the woman he was courting their  tentative trust in their discussion over breakfast. 

It was one thing for a person to give them shelter or a bit of food, but he’d taken the time to tend their wounds and wash all the filth of their old life away with his own hands. He seemed to trust the one he was talking to, eventually ending the conversation into a mirror.  A few moments later, Caliona let out a shrill wordless exclamation.  A t that , Talion let out a snort. He’d had a fair bit of outside magic pumped into him last night when the female treated his injuries, and it really was a strange sensation. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

As most of those in the Room mentally prepared for the inescapable discussion that would soon need to take place, something interesting happened in the same castle, but only briefly. Minerva McGonagall found her wand taken from her hand as soon as she entered her office,  then hastily and  forcefully apparate d elsewhere.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Oddly enough, the stern Professor didn’t expect to suddenly find herself sitting in what looked to be a  small, plain  room in Number 12, Grimmauld Place. This inference was back ed up by one Sirius Black serving her a cup of tea.  Taking just a moment to sip at a decent cup of tea, she turned her most stern countenance onto her host. 

“Sirius, while I appreciate the tea, I really  _ must _ inquire what you think you’re doing here. This is most out of the ordinary.”

Sipping his own cup briefly, just to observe the niceties, Sirius  succeeded in not quailing under her gaze. (Though it was significantly harder than he’d ever admit.)  He began with care, putting as much quiet malice into his words as he could.  “Well, Minerva, I felt we needed to have a discussion of certain failings of the staff at Hogwarts. I’ve recently become concerned about the welfare of my godson, you see, as the guardian his parents chose in the event they could not be there themselves. Granted, Alice and Frank Longbottom were the preferred choice, and if things had been different I doubt I would have had any objections to them. I’m sure they would have done a far superior job raising Harry, but I digress. 

“You see, the administration of Hogwarts Castle has failed to protect Harry from becoming a  pawn in the battle between the Headmaster and the Ministry. The professors have continually failed to provide a safe environment for learning, or even basic safety. And, this is most personally vexing you see, Harry feels that not one adult in that entire castle is actually in his corner,  who  will do anything to help him if he needs it. I don’t feel this is a situation that can be allowed to continue. 

“I’ve always held you in a great deal of respect Minerva, even back when I was young and stupid. But learning what’s been going on in that castle for the last five years has r educed that respect  t o,” Here, Sirius leaned forward and put as much venom as his Black  heritage afforded him into the last word without breaking his flow. “ _ ash. _ ”

Sirius held up a hand to stop her objections for a moment.  “In a moment, we’ll go into why I feel this way,  but first I want to inform you of something and let you read over a contract I wish for you to sign before you leave here today.”

“Sirius Black! You are acting preposterous! Hogwarts is the safest place...”

The exceedingly stern professor was cut off just as she was gathering steam by Sirius slamming his fist on the table hard and thundering over her. “DO NOT give me that shit, Minerva. I know plenty of schools where students haven’t had to deal with evil spirits, BASILISKS in the dungeons and the unadulterated hatred of their professors. You and all the rest have failed that school! You have failed the students!

“This is your last chance, Minerva. The Blacks have safe places all over the world.  _ You _ will step up, starting today, or in a week’s time Harry and his closest friends will be gone from that castle!”  (Unsaid was the abysmal odds of keeping the spawn of a Marauder inside the castle on his own, much less with outside help trying to extract him.)  Here, Sirius calmed down and slumped back into his chair, looking and feeling as he had after his talk with his godson that morning. “I talked to him thi s morning, Minerva. He’s not having an easy time of it, and you lot aren’t helping him.  He’s so close to breaking. I won’t let that happen. I’ve failed him so much already, it  _ has _ to stop now. It  _ will _ .”

“The Headmaster will never allow you to...”

With a snort, Sirius interrupted her again. “He won’t know until Harry’s already gone Minerva. Either you sign this contract to ensure you give him the help he needs,” Here Sirius’s voice dropped very low, barely audible in the quiet room. “or I’m going to  Obliviate you before Kreature takes you back. And no, I’m not very good at the spell, but I can bury my sentiments and do what’s needed. I want you to  have a glance at that contract, listen to what I have to say and then  _ think _ before you choose. I’ve respected you for a long time Professor. Please, I don’t want to do something drastic, but there  are so few good options.”

Minerva McGonagall was shocked. _ This _ was not how she expected her morning to go. “Sirius, there was something of an emergency last night. I’m needed.”

With a real smile, Sirius waved off her objections. “Something to do with a huge flow of magical energy into the castle and through the wards? Harry’s already taken care of it. He showed me what caused it on his mirror, it’s stable and slowly leaching off energy. He tells me it can’t be rushed without causing disaster, and given how much power is involved I’d say that’s a given. Since Hogwarts apparently uses students to solve all its mysteries and fight any monsters as a matter of course now I see nothing wrong with letting him take care of it.”

Refilling their cups as he waited for her rebuttal he let a devilish smirk cross onto his face. They both knew that last statement, while perhaps not completely accurate, wasn’t  wholly  wrong either. He was surprised when Minerva just sighed and reached for the document in a folder he’d moved next to her teacup after  he finished speaking earlier. “I will want to know what is going on, Mr. Black. Most of this doesn’t look unreasonable. I could be accused of favoritism for any of it, but from a rational perspective it’s not bad. Why do you want me to tutor Harry in Transfiguration? He does quite well as it is.”

“I want you to teach him how to use your art in combat. He has the power for it, if you’d seen, felt, that Patronus  from his third year…  Also, I want you to start laying groundwork so he can learn the Animagus transformation. Just the groundwork, don’t let him look for his animal yet; I’ve heard of a potion and if it’s real I want him to take that first. For both of them, the reason is because I want him to live through all the shit that happens in his life.”

“I wish that he didn’t need it, but given how his life is, I can understand. But what potion? I can’t think of what you’d mean.”

“It’s something I heard the American Indians use, well in stories anyway. Something about heroes of their people proving worthy and being gifted the right to  wear the form of a Th underbird. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, so I’m going to send Remus out to find the truth. Harry could make good use of a surprise up his sleeve.”

“Hmm, I always thought those were myths. However, even if this is impossible an animal form could prove exceedingly useful. I do want Harry to have a long life, so this is more than acceptable. Now this last part is worded oddly. Can you tell me why you want me to follow a minor’s lead in this current adventure? I can get why you don’t trust my judgment, but the secrecy seems just a bit much.”

Taking a long sip of tea, Sirius gathered his thoughts. “Harry called me on the mirror I g ave him at  Four o’clock this morning. When  he showed up either sweaty or just having rinsed off without a shirt on and said he’d had a long night, I’m sure you can guess where my thoughts led.” 

Shaking his head at the indignant expression on his once-favorite Professor’s face, he continued. “There’s four more lives in the balance in your castle  today  Minerva. In the night, Harry received an urgent call for help, that’s what caused your problem too. I don’t think you’ve ever been biased against  non-humans , so I’m comfortable telling you that they’re certainly not human. 

“ I’m guessing they’ll learn English eventually, but for now, Harry can only communicate through Parseltongue. I don’t think he’s ever used that ability willingly, so he hasn’t noticed yet but when he was having a little counseling session, his Parseltongue was going strange. I’m guessing his new acquaintances have some kind of magical language of their own, and it’s interacting with Harry’s. How that works, I have no clue, but it seems to be.”

“ I see. With the ministry in the castle, this is a poor time. Why does Harry think they need counseling?”

“Harry didn’t have the complete picture yet, but it looks like they’re victims of  a nightmari sh version of the Imperious, they were kept under their whole lives,  maybe from their their first breath. For them, it was like up was down, black was white, and good was evil. This spell that they just got away from, it made them do all the worst things our version can do, but it made them  _ enjoy _ it. Harry talked one of them down from tearing the veins out of his arms last night.”

It took a good five minutes for Minerva to respond to that. “That… That is truly vile, unconscionable. To do that to children! Not even Grindlewald was  _ that _ twisted! And the poor souls! Who could  _ do _ such a thing!?”

“Evil, is the only answer I know for sure. Harry’s doing a good job so far, but it might be needed to move them through the castle soon. Harry and Hermione are thinking of taking them into the Chamber of Secrets soon, but there was a cave-in down there when Harry killed the Basilisk, so I’m not sure it’s safe. I’m guessing you can handle permanent  transfigurations , or at least enough of them to secure a tunnel. Might try making it a teaching moment.  Anyway, there’s still a Basilisk, dead, down there probably. I’m not sure if it’s still good for anything, or if it’s rotted to nothing.

“ Anyway, the important part about this is that if the wrong people get wind of this, I don’t trust the Ministry to do the right thing, the logical thing, or even stay away from the evil thing. Whatever their origins, they are intelligent enough to know regret, but we both know that would mean  _ nothing _ if they’re found in the castle. Hell! It wouldn’t mean anything if they were found  anywhere in the country if the Ministry found out hurting them would hurt Harry.” Again, he sagged into his seat, feeling tired and worn. 

“Minerva, what the hell happened to the country while I was in Azkaban? I’m still not okay with getting chucked into there without with no trial, just  Crouch’s desire for  notoriety at my expense and probably Malfoy gold. But, the government has become an enemy of the people, and the people are just stupid sheep that do nothing about it. This wasn’t what I fought for in the last war dammit!”

Minerva really had no idea what to say to that. For a moment, she was confused why Malfoy would have wanted Sirius in prison, but then she remembered who his wife was. With Draco, the whole of the Black family would be in his father’s hands.  Suddenly she felt worse about Sirius’s imprisonment. Thinking back on the history she’d lived, she tried to come up with an answer. 

“Too many of those that followed Voldemort got out of their just  sentences and we never cleaned out the  Wizengamo t of the loyalists entrenched there. Too many of the good people that should have led the charge were dead, and the rest of us were so tired of fighting. I admit, I thought when we won that it was over, that I could be a teacher and just teach. I trusted the people in power. 

“That was a mistake, it seems. And now, looking at what our government has become, it feels like we’ve lost already. I really don’t know how to fix any of this Sirius. I think, if we win this war we’ll need to completely clear out the old guard, throw them in prison, use veritaserum on  _ everyone _ with any scrap of power. Arguments about not having enough just cause seem so very hollow when the Ministry can act like it is with you.”

“Not to mention it tried to kill my godson over the Summer.”

“Sirius, why would you think… Surely, they’re not that dark?”

Refilling their teac ups again  Sirius bought a little time while he  ordered his thoughts. “First we have the Dementors themselves. If Voldemort is keeping a low profile, calling on them would be an odd move. While the Ministry doesn’t have as good of a control over them as they think, it’s odd that two would go rogue and  _ only _ target my godson. If they were truly loose, they would have had more victims along the way. Next, the timing of the expulsion note is far too quick, and there’s no way it would have been generated without some investigation. The only one who saw the Patronus in the first place was Harry’s cousin after all. And that trial had nothing to do with getting the truth and everything about destroying an enemy. 

“We both know Harry’s become a pawn in the conflict between Dumbledore and Fudge. Fudge would prefer  Harry be gone in a way that didn’t reflect badly on him. I’m... I’m not really sure what Dumbledore wants for my godson. Minerva, with everything going on his life, has Albus arranged special lessons for Harry? Anything that would help him stay alive with the madman that’s after him and has been for years now?”

“It’s hard to deny your logic. I believe the Patronus lessons are the only time Harry’s been given any special training.”

“I’m going to have  _ words _ with Remus for that. Hermione told me  Harry had to beg for his help, we both know how badly  those blasted demons affect him. I can hardly believe that not only did my oldest living friend make a child he should have been an uncle to  _ beg _ for help,  but  that he never checked up on him while he was growing up. If he would have bothered to check up on him maybe Harry would have a few less scars on him.” That brought up Minerva’s eyebrows sharply.

“Explain.  _ Now. _ ” She intoned harshly.

“I think the insanity of the situation got to him, and it was warm enough where he was not to notice, but that was the first time I’ve seen him without a shirt on Minerva. I’m no healer, but I had a bad enough childhood to recognize at least one significant burn scar and a fair number of belt lashes that have scarred. I, I don’t even want to know what his back looks like, I might have to go earn that reputation for killing muggles. Harry was such a bright, happy child once. Seeing him act so shy and withdrawn at times just makes me sure people who should have been looking out for him failed him.”

“Albus, I  _ told _ him those were the worst sort of muggles when we left him there!”  The old professor’s fury drained away to a small voice. “ He  assured me Harry would only be safe with his Aunt. That everything  was taken care of. I don’t understand. I guess I’ll just have to trust Albus more going forward.”

It took a lot for Sirius not to argue with her on the last line, and instead he tried to think about that line. Either Minerva’s mind was broken from some trauma or age, or something had been done to it to make her want to reward a betrayal of trust with _more_ trust. This, this didn’t bode well at all. Suddenly he remembered an older relation of his warning him to never trust Dumbledore or men that played the rest of the world like chess pieces. That power was a drug that made one thirst for more and more and the Headmaster was drunk on it. A terrible suspicion began to rise in Sirius at that moment. 

The n , something started to whisper in the back of his mind. It wanted him to believe that this was all a misunderstanding, that he really should trust the Headmaster. That the Headmaster was so wise, that he was so kind and generous. Sirius reeled i n his chair and he realized what was happening.  H is old, so very neglected lessons in mental defense pulling themselves to the forefront. They proved  woefully  insufficient. 

A mental wall tried to form, but the thoughts that were a form of mental influence wormed under, over, and through. Sirius felt strangled as those foreign beliefs started to burrow back into his the deepest parts of his and mind and a comforting fog descend on him.  As he lost the battle, Sirius made a last rally and tried to make the words he spoke true, not realizing he said them aloud as well. “No! I am the Lord Black! Protector of the Family! I will not abandon my Heir!  I will NOT fail my family AGAIN! ” In this case,  in this house , those were  _ magic words _ . 

The Black family boasts a long and stories history through the ages. They’ve produced villains and heroes, but more than anything else they’ve produced cunning people who valued family above all. The last few generations had lost this focus, but two centuries of poisoned magic feeding into the family tapestry cannot destroy the weight of two millennia of people who, often with cunning and guile, used everything they could to ensure the Blacks continued. That _believed_ that family came first. 

The Family Magic, that  f ont of power each Black fed their unneeded strength into, was a creation of ages past. A brilliant man,  living with his family in the heart of the Roman Empire was beset on all sides and he was not strong enough to protect those he loved. With a great need before him, he stole his family to a tiny island in the Mediterranean where he created a well with a drop of blood from each member of his family, and his loyal manservant and his wife as well. They were slaves originally from Judea, but the first Black treated them well, never forcing them to work any harder than he  himself  did. Both men often worked long hours at the forge, feeding Rome’s hunger for s words and armor , enhanced with just a touch of magic. 

After long work and much toil, the man created the Family Magic; which would take from every person who added a drop of blood to that Well as much magic as it could without harm and store it for use by the family head.  (The need to bring each new family member to the physical location was removed with the weaving of magic to s ummon the needed blood from each  descendant  at birth .)  In practice, this meant while they slept every magical would be slowly drained by just enough so that they’d recover their strength fully a s they woke . Once the work was done, the man stood in front of the stone basin looking down at the seven drops of blood and added three of his own. 

On that island he created the Creed that would serve the Blacks for a very long time. “Let me and every  H ead of my House to follow be bound true to this purpose! To remain  **always pure** to this purpose! That every man and woman of this house be in this of pure hearts and devoted above all else! That our family will survive this day, that we will survive EVERY day! That we will look after one another! That the Blacks will endure in this purpose for every day that the sun rises until this world ends!”

The d rips of magic that Well (Long since hidden beyond any mortal finding on the Island only a Black and those  both invited and well-meaning would be welcome on.) pulled from every family member gave it life, gave it purpose! Every drop added to the well changed it, for good or ill with the very essence of what they were. Their hopes, their dreams, their fears, the very depths of the human soul never seen but in darkest adversity; that was what the fed the Well. 

B ut, in the last  few centuri es ,  with each new generation, the drops turned to poison; the newest family members bound to that Well clashed horribly with the purpose for which it had been created. Tho se that would have been a comfort had been c ast out of the family , and those whose influence it yearned for were broken, broken almost down to their very souls. 

Though not a truly intelligent thing, the Black Magic that had given up hope for itself and the Family heard Sirius in his desperation through the fog it was falling into. Joy, Hope, Rage for all that been wrought by and to its Family, Fear for those in danger, and Rage that one of its Sons had their mind tainted flowed through it in a heartbeat. Unseen by any living thing, contained within a cave with no exits or entrances, behind a Fidelius of which the Well itself was both Keeper and the only Knower of its own secret, the Well surged. Magic roiled and thundered! The Black Family Magic roared! 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

For the first time in over two centuries, the Black Family’s Magic had the three things it truly needed to influence the world. Firstly, it had enough magic to do so, if only barely. Second, it had a true Head; the Magic would never bow to the insane or one whose motivations was incongruous with its own. And third, it had a use for its Magic that aligned with its purpose.

In the mind of Sirius, the Family Magic swept aside the expertly woven compulsions. To protect the Head, the Family Magic used the bits of magic that were maintaining the compulsions to throw up a very narrowly specific spell for the caster to ignore the Black Head. Whoever had altered his mind would have a great deal of difficulty assigning any importance or even notice to the head of the Black Family.

This expended the Well’s available stored power. What was once a mighty gift that could turn the tides of battle was greatly reduced by both the decline of the family and the magic it had gathered from the majority of the Blacks in the last century. But it had hope now. The Family had a Head that knew what family _should_ mean. He had an heir as well, and the young man had _potential._

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

As the Family Magic left him, Sirius Black, now the official head of the family slumped onto the table, desperately wishing for something to dull his headache.  He could really only say one thing at the moment. “Well, that sure hurt.”

Sitting across from him, Minerva raised an eyebrow as she observed him again. From her perspective, Sirius had made a rather dramatic statement, frozen in place for several moments, then slumped like a puppet with cut strings. After several more moments with Sirius face down on the cool table, she cleare d her throat. “Are you well, Sirius?”

Not raising his head just yet, he answer ed carefully. “Professor, I think we have either a traitor or someone trying to usurp the Order for their own purposes among us. My family apparently has some kind of defense that can purge outside influences from the Head’s mind.  When I claimed the Headship just now, it activated and cleaned my mind out. I, I need to brush up on my Occlumency, I don’t know if that cleansing was a one-time thing or not. You should too, would you like me to send you a book on it when I find a good one?” 

“ Mr. Black, are you telling me we have another  _ Pettigrew _ among us?”  Minerva was more than a little shaken at that idea, she liked to think she could, at least, trust the rest of the Order.

“ Yes, but this one is probably a lot smarter and is very skilled in the mind arts. I’ll have you sent back as soon as you sign the contract Minerva. You must tell no one until we know more. Remember that the walls might have ears, especially the ones at Hogwarts this year.”

“ You  _ will _ keep me informed Sirius. Send an elf with that book you mentioned in the evening when I’m alone in my quarters.  Helping Harry prepare for battle would not be a terrible idea. There does seem to be a war coming and that boy attracts trouble like no one else I’ve ever seen. Do you have a quill?”

Though Harry Potter’s experience with them was neither pleasant or legal,  unmodified Blood Quill s were sparingly used for binding legal documents. A contract signed in ink was usually legally binding, but one signed in blood was magically binding. Sirius Black felt no joy as Minerva  McGonagall  winced and signed the contract in her own blood. He really, really hoped that this did not cause a clash with another binding contract or oath she may no longer remember. Only the thought  that his godson was more important kept him from stopping her right then. 

Sirius really, really hoped that somehow he was wrong about Albus Dumbledore; that the man wasn’t what he seemed in light of the compulsion spells. The Headmaster would be a dangerous enemy if he was a Dark Lord hidden in the light or an old man that simply thought that he alone knew the correct way forward and had no appreciation for the free will of others.

A/N: My personal head cannon is that Umbridge did not exactly invent the Blood Quills, as that seems beyond her usual level of competence. I mean, really, she was bested by a bunch of kids that she was continually antagonizing. If she had a half-dozen Aurors there loyal to her, how much differently would that have gone? Anyway, my head cannon is that being the awful person she was, she saw the Blood Quills used in rare circumstances to sign legal documents, took a good look at them and said “I can make this into a torture instrument pretty easy.” So she did.


	3. Chapter 3: Free! Well, more free.

I don't own Harry Potter or Warcraft. Call me arrogant if you want, but I think I could have done a better job with the story for Battle for Azeroth. Reviews put a smile on my face!

  
  


  
  


Chapter 3: Free! Well, more free. Free-er?

Back at Hogwarts Castle four dragons and two humans were preparing to have a discussion of what exactly was going on. Harry wanted as much information on the pursing force as they could give him, along with anything that could help him help the dragons with adjusting to life not under the thrall of evil gods. Ralion wanted to know more about the new world he was living in. Hermione just wanted to know _everything_.

It began as an awkward and stilted conversation. At Hermione’s request, Harry was taking notes and had several sheets of paper filled with questions his friend wanted to know. Bit by bit, they got parts of the current condition of the world on the other side of the portal that painted a rather grim picture. Essentially, the forces of evil were trying to destroy the world (The thought of a cult of humans and other races dedicated to killing off all life on a planet did horrify both of them.) and had a pretty good chance of succeeding.

The Cult was led by the fallen Dragon Aspect (Once Neltharion was one of five dragons charged to protect the world, personally responsible for the prisons of the very creatures that had usurped his mind. Seems he wasn’t given protection from his prisoners when he was given he job.) Deathwing. He was huge, powerful, and plated head to toe in elementium armor that both held him together and made almost any attack on him impossible. Deathwing wasn’t unbeatable, but neither would he fall easily.

Between Deathwing, the Black Dragonflight (Neltharion’s Flight, sadly they went down with him when he fell.) and the mortal servants of the Old Gods, a process had been developed that could take the eggs of other dragonflights and warp them into what was in the room now. Twilight Dragons were essentially a weapon forged to destroy all the others, and in the war that had been raging for a few years now their Dragonflight had sowed vast amounts of destruction.

Tendrion and the others learned that on this world, magic users had segregated themselves and gone into hiding. If they were seen flying around in most places there would be trouble. They also learned something about the dragons of this world, which appeared to simply be dumb beasts, but all present decided to verify that for themselves at some point.

Harry mentioned flying against one last year, and that brought up a discussion of the Tournament, which led to a discussion of the various tasks and how it ended. Talk of the summer’s events violently killed any hope of peaceful coexistence with the Ministry of Magic. If they would do that to their own citizens, it was highly doubtful a band of dragons from another world would do any better. The dragons were also amused that the human’s own name for their world was simply another way to say ‘dirt;’ ‘Azeroth’ was a much better name for a planet as far as they were concerned.

Time seemed to fly quickly as they swung back and forth between subjects light and heavy, Harry taking notes until his wrist was killing him. For her part, Hermione couldn’t wait until either she or the drakes learned each other’s language. They had a late lunch, Dobby having convinced the Hogwarts elves to make a variety of prepared meats for lunch and snagging a fair bit for his favorite human and his friends.

_ Đ _ _ : “This is pretty good, but please tell your small friend there’s no need to cook our food. When we can hunt we generally just eat  _ _ the deer or elk raw wherever we kill it.” _

_ Ƥ: “ _ _ Will do. I assume you eat more of your kills than just the muscle my people tend to R _ _ alion _ _ ?” _

_ Đ _ _ : “ _ _ Yes, muscles tend to taste the best, but creatures have lots of nutrition in their hearts, livers, and bones. We can digest bones fairly well in most cases, so long as we chew properly. We need to consume  _ some _ blood too or we tend to get to get an iron deficiency.” _

Looking to Dobby who was still serving them with a smile on his face, Harry gestured to get his attention. “Dobby, the meat we eat in the castle, what happens to the various organs like hearts and the bones? Ralion just told me his people eat all parts of the animals they kill, so if t he elves don’t use the organs, bones, or blood we can give those items to my friends to eat  instead and keep them fed without causing problems.” 

“Other parts be waste Great Wizard Harry Potter. Dobby can get  dragon friends parts we not use, keep many more dragons than this fed.” After Harry translated back to the dragons, Ralion looked over to their pile of bags and the pink sphere.

Đ :  _ “ _ _ That’s good, because we actually have a lot more of us. Save one, they’re all whelps though,  _ _ but _ _ at some points of development they can eat as much as I can. You see that pink thing? It’s a Dalaran  _ _ Prison Sphere. The human mages stole and tweaked the design a bit, and we stole this one from a rouge mage that was experimenting with a wide variety of whelps; he wanted to take our long lives for himself and find a way to enslave all dragons.  _

_ “We discovered his hidden facility on a little island east of The Swamp of Sorrows, sn _ _ uck _ _ in and added everything there from tomes to armor and weapons to metals  _ _ to our supplies for when we found a new world. Tendrion was emphatic that we not hurt any of the other Flight’s whelps, so we took them all with us in that sphere.  _ _ Valistraza  _ _ got stuck with watching over them all, so she’s in stasis with them right now.” _

_ Ƥ: “ _ _ Valistraza?”  _ Harry asked with a curious hiss.

Đ :  _ “ _ _ She’s a Red Dragon that abandoned her flight. We found her by chance making her  _ _ way  _ _ south over the Badlands. Tendrion knew enough to see she was carrying a clutch and figure out something was very wrong in her world for her to be fleeing  _ _ in her condition. After we got her on the ground very carefully we found out that she was a _ _ fter _ _ the same objective we were. Inter-flight romances are forbidden, but she had fallen for a Blue Dragon and was carrying his young. They were going to flee the world together but he fell in combat and she was forced to flee on her own, she was adamant that her young would survive no matter the cost.  _

_ “Tendrion convinced her to serve as our broodmother in exchange for a place with us when we left Azeroth behind. I think she saw that he was free of the darkness that  _ _ t _ _ ore _ _ at the rest of us and came to trust him. She’s only in stasis with the whelps because we barely had time to hunt enough food for ourselves, never mind a clutching broodmother. When the key on my neck touches the prison they should all wake up hungry.” _

_ Ƥ: “ _ _ Okay, as soon as soon as we deal with this other group and get the portal hidden on the other end, I need to get the Chamber set up for you guys. It’s a big place, but it’s damp and cold right now. We can take care of that with the right bit of magic though. I bet with some work we could find or create a tunnel to the surface too. It might not be high living, but it would be safe. As far as I know, only myself and the dark wizard that wants to kill me can get in, and he’s afraid to come here himself.” _

Đ:  _ “Caves are no problem for us. Sunlight isn’t as important as warmth really. That thing you do with the warm water will probably earn you loyalty from  _ _ Valistraza.  _ _ It’ll take you a bit longer to get all of her though, she’s a dragon but not yet a wyrm.” _

_ Ƥ:  _ _ “ _ _ Wyrm?” _

Đ:  _ “ _ _ A wyrm is a dragon that’s over t _ _ housand _ _ years old. I see you’re writing this down, so I’ll explain the different stages. First, we’re born as eggs and spend the first six months of our life soaking up magic and mostly sleeping in our shells, but we are awake and thinking at times too, usually more towards when we hatch.  _

_ “We come out of shells as whelps, infants you might call them. Most flights spend a decade as whelps, but the  _ _ T _ _ wilight and Nether drag _ _ on _ _ s progress much faster. I’m not sure about the Netherwing, but the Twilight dragons are ready to mature after a year. At t _ _ he whelp and drake stages _ _ , we absorb a lot of nutrients and kind of shift them into storage with our  _ _ innate _ _ magic.  _

_ “When we’re ready, we make use of those nutrients all at once and change rapidly into forms like you see in us. Usually we’re helped by a broodmother through the first transition and manage the second with only a few instructions.  _ _ Black, Blue, Bronze, Green and Red drakes spend a century saving more nutrients before they become dragons. I’m not actually sure how long Twilight dragons take because we’ve been forced to mature faster, that’s part of why we wanted a broodmother to come with us. A dragon will grow very slowly over time in both size and power as they gain some physical traits that mark them as wyrms. _ _ ” _

Giving his thanks to Tendrion, Harry left them behind for a moment and went back to his comfortable chair where Hermione was already looking over some of his notes. She looked over to him as he sat down tiredly. At her inquisitive look he shrugged and started to speak. 

“We have a lot more than four dragons here. You know those trunks that are bigger on the inside? That’s what the sphere over there is, it’s also keeping them in some kind of stasis.  There’s one adult with a lot of ‘whelps,’ their c hild form.  I don’t think they even counted exactly how many are there. The  adult is also a pregnant ‘Broodmother’ which seems to be a profession that deals with the raising of their young, and she’s apparently a traitor to her ‘Flight’ because they would have done something to her illegal inter-racial children if she stayed.  Is this crazy enough for you yet?”

Letting off an amused snort, Hermione Granger gave him a long look for a moment. “It was c razy enough for me last night when you got me out of bed to open a portal to another world and started hissing at dragons Harry. Honestly, I don’t think you ever had a chance at a normal life with things like this popping up at you. But you’re doing pretty well so far;  this is going to be a long project for sure. 

“I’ve been looking at the map once in a while, things are still going crazy out there, like someone kicked a beehive.  As long as they can’t find this room we should be good, and even if they do I’m not sure anyone could get in. The Room seems to become everything you need, as soon as you need it. So long as you need us to not be found we should be totally safe  in here. Well, as long as Dobby keeps the food coming. If you can make that shower a little more private I think I’ll try to get a shower in soon.”

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Back in a dilapidated house in London, Sirius Black was back at the same table he was that morning, now facing Remus. “So Remus, I think I have a way to be sure that Harry makes it through the war, but I need your help. You see, I once swore an oath not to mention something, but it occurs to me that Harry could collect on a debt owed from a member of the Potter family.

“What I need you to do is either find or create a method by which a magical creature can grant a human their own form, replacing or adding to their own animagus form. While Harry might have fun as a stag or some kind of bird, something more powerful would help him live longer. I remember hearing about old magical champions of the Native American tribes being granted the ability to wear the form of a Thunderbird.

“All I can say is that we might have something even better available, but I can’t leave this house to find the potion or whatever method they use. I need you to help Harry now, by doing what I can’t. I just need you to sign this contract that will protect the secret. Are you willing to help win the war?” _T_ _hankfully_ _, at least one Marauder will forgive me for deceiving another. I’ll try to make this worth it James._

After hearing about the lack of contact between his old friend and his godson, Sirius felt much less guilt over doing this than he had with Minnie. To be completely honest, he was also still a little ticked over the whole innocent man in prison without a trial thing as well. It seemed like Remus couldn’t be trusted to do the right thing on his own, so a binding contract would help.

_True, this might be how Albus got started, but at least I’m only making Remus keep promises we all gave James and Lily. I failed them when I went after Pettigrew because I trusted that others would do the right things. That got Harry raised by monsters and myself in the company of demons. No more. Harry is the heir of my house and_ _all that’_ _s_ _left o_ _f_ _the Potter’s legacy_ _and he’ll be a good man if he makes it through this alive. I don’t know who else_ _in the Magical World_ _I’d trust with any kind of power really._

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Back in Hogwarts, in a hidden room both groups were taking some time to marshal their thoughts. While Draconic came easily to its native speakers, parseltonguein large amounts was proving tiring for various parts of Harry’s mouth, face and throat. There was more to be discussed, but all involved were considering what was most important information they wanted.

_Đ: “_ _A secure cavern, next to a forest and a small town in the middle of nowhere? Much worse places to stay. Course, if Talion can manage it we might try for our own island someday once he’s grown up. I’ll never forget Tendrion for getting us here, his toil and ingenuity. It’s just so nice to be free of Azeroth, free of the Old Gods at last!”_ Vespiona’s words were cut short by a hollow, broken sound coming from Talion as he started to chuckle, then laugh brokenly.

_ Đ: “ _ _ I’m sorry, hahaha, I thought you knew at first, haha,”  _ The black and orange drake let out in words punctuated by increasingly hysterical laughter. _ “then I just couldn’t bear to take it away from you.”  _ At this point, he broke down into sobs briefly. 

_ “That darkness, that taint that bound us isn’t gone. I don’t think even Elune could remove it without killing us. It’s still there, in the back of my head, it’s just for the first time it isn’t influencing my every thought. Feel it out, see if it’s still there or not. I hope you’re free and you can just bind me or put me out of my misery in a few hours  _ _ when it takes me again.”  _ Finished speaking, the dragon sank to the ground and shed tears from his eyes.  _ “Actually, if there’s no escape for this, I’d rather die as myself, for the first time in the dozen years I’ve lived then live as a slave any longer.” _

Across the room, Harry and Hermione caught the sudden downturn of emotion, first with Talion and then with the others. Reading their faces wasn’t easy with the reptilian features but the drooping wings and tails were; not to mention the hurr y  and  _ panic _ in Draconic that even Miss Granger could pick out of the language. 

Ralion took charge of the growing panic by slamming the dull  bone plates that made up the club at the end of his tail on the obsidian hard enough to crack the stone and catch everyone’s attention. 

_ Đ: “ _ _ We are not giving up! Not yet! I will not let me brother’s blood toil and tears be for nothing! Stay calm and focus for a few more hours before you let despair take you! There  _ must _ be something we can do, so think hard!”  _ Coming up to Harry as quickly as he could without charging at him he started to speak.  _ “Harry, we’ve just figured out that our ‘Imperi _ _ o _ _ us’ isn’t gone but dormant and we might only have a few hours before we need to be restrained or killed. I need to know everything about how you knew to open the door on this side, that might give us a clue on how to proceed.” _

_ Ƥ: “ _ _ I often have nightmares, and I was having one last night. I was seeing a fellow student killed again when suddenly everything changed. I knew I was dreaming, and I was in a forest with huge tree and gleaming shafts of moonlight coming down through the trees. I could see a tall figure in the distance standing before five smaller ones, but it was indistinct and I couldn’t see anything beyond that.  _ _ I looked at them, and something swept into me.  _

_ “I  _ **knew** _ you were in trouble, fleeing death and darkness, I  _ **knew** _ I could help if you if I acted quickly. I had an image burned into my brain of that circle on the floor and then I woke up. Usually I don’t sleep as well as most people, but after only a couple hours of sleep I was more rested than I’ve ever been. I got someone I could trust to help me and came to this room. This is the Room of Requirement and it becomes whatever you need it to, last night it became what you see, minus what I’ve wanted to add to it since.  _

_ “I know that something very powerful touched my mind, but it didn’t seem to be malevolent. I  _ **know** _ malevolent things touching my mind.” _ Harry stopped talking for a moment and thought hard on what that touch of his mind felt like, trying to get a thought on it’s possible motivations. After a moment he had the best he could phrase it.

_ “I think the best way I can put it is that whatever force connected us wanted you to be free, but it c _ _ ouldn’t or wouldn’t  _ _ just give it to you. I’m not sure why. It feels like,  _ _ and I don’t know why, it wanted you to prove yourself somehow.” _ Harry gestured his companion towards the mirror and she indeed grasped the idea. Harry leaned over as the dragons thought and whispered in her ear: 

“Whatever influence was warping them isn’t gone, but it was silenced for a time. I think they’re in a place where they’d rather die as themselves than go back. Try to brainstorm with Sirius if you can get him alone.”

A few paces away Ralion and the others were thinking hard. None of them were familiar with Elune or Cenarius  save  as powerful enemies.  _ And that was probably the point, Ralion  _ _ thought _ _ to himself. Tendrion was worthy but I’m not sure we are. There must be something… I can’t believe an eternity of Tendrion’s service would be worth sending us here for a few hours of false hope _ .  _ So there must be something here that can help us. From the description of this room, I can already see the young mage is already trying to make it conjure something to help. I don’t know if that would work, but it can’t hurt and trying the easy solutions is a good first step. _

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Back at Number Twelve, Sirius was grabbing a late lunch after having gotten Remus started on his research  expedition  when the mirror in his pocket started to vibrate and warm. Making off with his sandwich to his private room he sat down and  pulled his mirror out of his pocket.  Once alone he  tapp ed it with his wand to receive the call. He had been hoping that most of the excitement had been dealt with for the day, but those hopes ended when a concerned Hermione showed up on the mirror and started relaying the last few moments of events from the Scottish Castle. 

“So now the leader of the four is saying that their old leader gave  himself in service to a  _ god _ basically forever in exchange for them getting here, and he doesn’t think an offer in good faith like that would have them only escape the darkness for a few hours. Sirius, if we can’t get them taken care of in a few hours we’re going to start chaining them, but they’re apparently saying that if we can’t help them they’d rather die then be monsters again. We only have a little time left where they’ll want to help us, apparently whatever effect is in play, it will warp their thoughts where the Imperious only blankets the mind. Do you have any ideas?”

Scratching his stubble, Sirius  thought hard. “Try to find out more about how it was applied, when it first started to get into their thoughts. Ask about when it first got its hooks into them.”

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Back in the Castle, no one really like the answer that the stolen eggs from other dragons were subsumed in some kind of black, evil magic and miasma. It stoked anger when the Twilight Dragons spoke of the torture in their eggs that never let up until their wills broke and they actually  _ begged _ to serve the Old Gods if only the pain would cease. 

It was generally agreed that being led through a series of questions, since all three dragons had heard the same words in their minds ( _ Will you serve me? Will you serve no other? Will you obey your god _ _ s _ _ ?)  _ and the pain continued until all answers were yes, that it was what essentially a form of magical contract or oath.  And, as any well-educated magical would tell you, getting out of those was  _ tricky.  _

The good news from Sirius was that to the best of his knowledge not all oaths and such were equal. One given under duress (For example: Sign this contract in blood or I kill you.) would not be _as_ binding as one done in good faith on both sides. Sadly, in some ways the power of the people involved also played a part. A near-squib signing a contract wouldn’t be held as tightly as a strong wizard. 

This was bad because response oaths tended to take from both individuals involved, and the dragons were not sparing  the  word ‘god’ apparently when discussing the creatures that had enslaved them.  Several hours passed quickly in a stream of discussion and frantic reading of every tome the room could conjure, leading even Hermione to recklessly hurl useless books off into the distance. Time was short already. 

There was no more time left when Talion, member of the first Flight to fall to the Old Gods and having lived with the whispers much longer by virtue of having lived about eight years longer than the others asked Harry to restrain him. That sort of sent a chill through the other six souls that heard it. Talion found himself in a padded stockade, more comfortable than he expected to be honest. At that point, Sirius asked Harry to place the mirror in front of the dragons and to translate what he said word for word.

“Okay, time is short now. Here’s what we know: You’ve sworn an oath under duress, under torture as the most helpless kind of child imaginable. That’s made it weaker than one made on the level.  With most magic, intentions matter.  Good emotions and motivations produce stronger b o nds than selfish ones do. Love  truly _is_ stronger than hate. 

“Also, an oath, verbal or mental isn’t as strong as  something with a physical binder, like a contract signed with blood. Your leader made a deal with a goddess that’s generally on the up and up  with honest intentions and the most valuable thing he could offer , and  she  sent you  to my godson here out of all possible  places and people . 

“I don’t know if you know, but Harry is standing almost alone against an evil that’s rising right now in this land. I think that if you were to make some kind of blood oath in good faith and really meant it on both sides, that would be strong enough to protect against this filth that’s forced its way into your minds. Harry, is that dragon laughing in a good way or a bad way?”

Indeed, Caliona had begun laughing in a way that wasn’t great for her throat wound, with the others joining in soon after. But, this time it wasn’t  a broken loss of hope, but a seeming joke that was just now being funny. Tendrion  had  seemingly saved them again.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

_ Đ: “ _ _ Harry, Tendrion will save us again it seems. He made all of us learn an old ritual that was used by an old elven mage-king that ruled a small and wildly diverse kingdom that shattered  _ amicably _ after his death. Quickly, write down your parts of the oath, then have the room summon a sharp silver knife and four silver goblets. I feel a little unsure about doing this, but we’ve come this far and we don’t have other options at all. I hope you will save us from madness and darkness by accepting our service,” _ Here he raised his head and looked into Harry’s eyes. _ “My Lord.” _

Thus it was, with Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, and the house elves Dobby and Kreacher watching unnoticed in the shadows, Harry began an old ritual to bind four servants to him, and thus threw the fate of two worlds from their previous paths. For good or ill, events  to come would be  _ different _ .

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Feeling it the right thing to do, Ralion went first.  _ Đ: “ _ _ I, Ralion of the Twilight Dragonflight,  _ **former** _ slave-servant of the Old Gods of Azeroth do hereby swear myself to Harry James Potter so long as I draw breath.”  _ Saying this, he paused, took his very clean right forelimb and cut himself with the knife, bleeding into the silver  goblet .  _ “I offer you my life’s blood to bind myself to you, the Lord I have chosen. P _ _ lease accept my service _ _ .” _

Taking the offered goblet, Harry ingested a sip of the blood, ignoring the taste (Coppery and s lightly evil, with a hint of some wood ash.) he responded looking into the eyes of Ralion, hoping he could do this right, that he could do right by him, whatever came after this. 

_ Ƥ:  _ _ “I accept your service,  _ _ given in good faith  _ _ Ralion of the Twilight Flight.”  _ Accepting the knife offered to him handle first, he cut a finger and added three drops to the goblet before passing it back to him.  _ “Take my blood  _ _ that you may know the  _ _ bulwark _ _ of a Loyal Lord _ _ .”  _ Hearing this, he drank the contents of the goblet, mostly his blood with the addition from Harry.  _ “Will you, Ralion of House Potter give me your service, in whatever manner I ask o _ _ f you to y _ _ our very last breath?” _

_ “I give you my service to my last breath, of my own free will my Lord.” _ With that, a bright white flashed through the room and the silver goblet, taken from the room of lost things, (and then cleaned vigorously)  slipped from Ralion’s right claw and formed a narrow band around his  forelimb marked with the  rarely seen  symbol of  H ouse Potter ,  a rapier crossed with a wand over  the words “Timor non est in facie mali.”  a phrase in  Latin that translates to “ No fear in the face of evil .” 

Both participants would later admit to feeling rather strange as they stood there, the after effects slowly fading. Hermione, filling in for a loyal retainer, cleaned the knife with a cloth in a very specific pattern as Ralion stepped back and first his sister  Vespiona, then Caliona and Talion repeated the ritual with Harry. 

Talion, the darkness _clawing_ at his mind, had much difficulty getting through the ritual, at one point pausing to bellow out “ _I will never serve you_ _again_ _!”_ in defiance. Talion would later describe the sensation of the bond settling as something pushing the old hatred and cruelty aside a building something within him that would stand between his mind and the writhing shadows. Something that cared about him, that wanted him to know a better life and to _live_ a better life.

Soon all four stepped up to Harry in a line, Ralion a half stride further forward than the others, and bowed before Harry.  _ Đ: “ _ _ What is your first command, my Lord?” _ they asked in a nearly eerie unison.

Harry had been thinking about this since Sirius first made the suggestion. He knew that any command he gave to them would be law, they would be unable to  disobey. As they were getting ready for this, he’d asked Hermione and Sirius over the mirror in a corner for advice on how to phrase the needed commands. 

_ Ƥ: “ _ _ First, you will never again be influenced  _ _ by _ _ , obey, heed or register hearing the thoughts, words, or whispers of the Old Gods. Second, from this day forward I want you to live a life you can be proud of. Third, you will not obey my words that are not directly intended as commands. If you are unsure, ask me before you act. Fourth, I want you to come to me if you need something, I would rather be a friend than a master. For now, look after your health and we’ll make what preparations we need. I, I’m not sure I’m worthy of your trust but I will do everything I can to make myself worthy. For now, I think we could all use something to  _ _ eat and  _ _ drink;  _ _ I don’t know about you but I seem to be buzzing inside and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”  _

A bit of a rest was certainly in order after a rather exciting afternoon. Sirius  signed off when he saw eyelids starting to droop, seeing that the room had shifted to provide a rather large pile of pillows for the dragons to arrange however they wanted and a four-poster bed with his still shirtless godson slipping under the covers, too tired to notice his female friend slipping in on the other side. He wondered if they’d find themselves spooning sometime soon or not. 

In any case, Harry might not have known what all that ritual did, but he’d bet his tail that there would be some side effects that were unexpected. While he wasn’t familiar with that ritual, let alone the language it was performed in, between the light show, the intent, the blood and the cups made he suspected that there was more to it. Exactly what effects this could have, he wasn’t sure of yet. It looked like it was time to review some of his lessons from the previous Head the Blacks (His grandfather, not his father. Now that was a terrifying man. His father never met the minimum sanity requirements to be the Family Head.) back when he was just a kid before he fled from his parents. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

A four hour rest did everyone in the Room of Requirement a great deal of good. Hermione, not directly dealing with any fallout from the ritual was the first to wake up. She found herself held in a pair of arms and held against a bare chest. She blushed, but decided to remain still and not wake him. She had heard him say that he often had nightmares so decided to let him rest for the time being.

It turned out she felt more relaxed than she expected as she soon returned to her slumber. A little after eight that evening Harry woke up, surprised to have his best friend held close so he carefully disentangled himself and slipped out of the bed and made use of the bathroom. Despite being as quiet as possible, he did return to the others stirring awake. Now that much of the stress and immediate problems had been resolved he noticed that his best friend had seemingly not had the time to don a bra last night. He found himself blushing at some thoughts that ran rampant through his mind at that discovery.

Dobby, seeing them waking up provided a light meal and some warm drinks. If he wanted Harry Potter to take him as his elf someday, he would have to prove that he was the best elf. He was experimenting with different seasonings for the dragons too. For the meal he had cow hearts from the little known farm a group of Hogwarts elves kept up in a greatly expanded, and previously unused, wing of the castle only reachable by the elves. (Centuries ago, a headmaster had commanded the elves to find a way to reduce the food budget without lowering quality. After some false starts, he was amazed when the quality went _up_ while the costs plummeted to almost nothing. After learning what the elves had done he had gathered them all together and given them most honest praise he could for not only accomplishing a hard command but surpassing expectations. Some elves had passed out from joy at the honest, earnest praise.) 

Dobby  had  found a seasoning they all seemed to enjoy in a slowly cooked heart with very spicy barbecue sauce.  For the dragon that was still looking rather weak he had made for her a meaty stew of heart and liver with a little blood. Not sure how to prepare bones for consumption, he’d merely soaked a few in  bit of unused gravy from the main student’s dinner. It was certainly different cooking for carnivores instead of omnivores, but so far the little elf  had  _nailed it._

After they had all finished eating w ith light conversation floating around during the meal, Harry willed the room to create a pool just deep enough for the drakes to submerge  their heads if they ducked. Thinking back to his guest’s preferred temperature for water, he added a heating element to one side of the pool and had it make that part scalding hot. With a little magic the other side of the water would be warm enough to relax human muscles but not scald human skin. He requested and got a pair of swimming trunks in dark blue but poor Harry had a problem when he tried to get some swimwear for Hermione. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t get the room to provide something that was as modest as he guessed his friend would want.

Hermione was honestly impressed at the combination hot tub and pool Harry  designed , but found herself  immediately insulted when the first attempt produced a very tiny string bikini. She almost let out an angry remark when she saw him frown and try again. His second attempt produced a  larger amount of cloth, but it had sections cut out that revealed almost as much. By the sixth attempt, she could see him becoming frustrated before he turned to her,  red faced and very embarrassed.

“I’m sorry Hermione, I think you’ll have to transfigure something. I think the problem is that while I want to give you something you’d be comfortable in, part of me also wants to see you something like this.” Deciding to cut her best friend some slack, she picked up two pieces from different sets that seemed more modest than the others and applied a color charm to both so they’d be matching dark green. Honestly she’d seen plenty worse on vacation in France. Stepping into the bathroom for a moment, she remarked to him as she closed the door.

“That’s alright Harry, I guess you’re  still a teenage boy,  Lord o f dragons or not. You wouldn’t believe what my dad has to say about teenage boys.”

Within five minutes everyone had sunk into the rather warm water, Harry had made an admirable attempt to keep his eyes on his friend’s face and not on the rest of her as she slipped into the water looking much more graceful than he remembered her previously. For her part, Hermione noted both the attempt and the warm feeling she got that Harry seemed to enjoy the view when his eyes roved a bit.

Thankfully the pool was self-cleaning, as bits of previously missed mud and dried blood flaked off the dragons as they relaxed in the water. Talion felt a little let down that the water wasn’t as warm as he’d like, but then again if he wanted to swim in something to his tastes he’d need a vat of aluminum or molten stone instead of water. After a time of just relaxing, Ralion asked for and received some large brushes of varying thickness. It turned out due to their anatomy dragons had pretty much given up on washing themselves, too many hard to reach places, and instead they would groom each other. Harry learned that it had become a tradition, and Hermione guessed it was a kind of bonding ritual. 

Usually a male drake would only bathe a non-related female if they were either courting or already mates, but Vespiona and Ralion paired up  while  Talion and Caliona cleaned each other out of necessity. The two teens just relaxed in the warm water, asking the odd question about draconic culture. Sadly, those here hadn’t been exposed to as much of it given their situation as slaves, but  from  what they knew  it seemed v ery practical . 

After an hour of soaking in the pleasantly warm water, the group made a few plans for tomorrow involving getting up early the next morning,  and using Sunday to make plans for going forward. Both teens took a few moments to slip into the rooms shower for a quick scrub with soap before bed. Vespiona had mentioned they couldn’t use soap on themselves until they had either acquired or mixed up a substitute for a special oil they used on their scales, as most soaps would strip the existing oil off and let their scales dry and crack. 

Harry let Hermione take the existing bed and asked the room for a sleeping bag instead. Hermione watched him lay down to sleep next to the dragons, he’d whispered something about wanting them to feel like he was one of them instead of thinking him as their superior. It turns out the dragons were still rather exhausted from their escape and the bonding, as they fell asleep quickly. Her last view of Harry for the night was when a sleeping Caliona used her wing to pull him to her side like a large teddy bear. Hermione fell asleep with a smile on her face. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

On another worl d no longer very far away at all a n  eclectic group of creatures flew through the night  sky,  led by five shapes Harry would have now found familiar .  _ Đ: “ _ _ I can’t believe that priestess made us wait at o _ _ ur last _ _ camp for a full day. Even you  _ _ R _ _ eds should have felt that surge of power! I bet we have another mess to deal with now.”  _

Another dark shape, wings beating hard without the thermals they would normally ride to ease the strain responded in the same tongue.  _ “Elune is a real entity,  _ _ and _ _ as far as I know she’s at least somewhat fond of m _ _ y _ _ Flight  _ _ because _ _ Cenarius  _ _ learned so much _ _ from  _ _ G _ _ randmother. Unless we’ve done something to seriously offend her I doubt she’d intervene to the group’s detriment while I’m here. Sadly we don’t get to  _ _ demand answers from _ _ the higher beings, only work around them. Think you can find the center of whatever that was?” _

A third of the creatures beating their wings through the night injected himself.  _ “Even I know that won’t be hard. Let’s just hope we can finally finish this and get  _ _ that R _ _ ed they took _ _ back in one piece. I hate to think of what’s been done to her to make her  _ _ so  _ _ compliant, and we haven’t seen her since before they got to that island. You still think she’s alright Dali?” _

_ “I do brother. They must have had a reason for dragging a clutching dragon around with them, and it would be out of character for this group to be, well, so  _ **wasteful** _ to just slit her throat and drop her in the ocean. I agree with  _ _ Aurogos,  _ _ it’s likely that island was some kind of facility  _ _ experimenting on dragons by _ _ a Kirin Tor traitor and the  _ _ Twilights have _ _ stolen the whelps we could smell there and placed them all into a prison sphere. There’s a chance we could get some of our whelps back alive too. You all know how many losses our Flights have taken in the last few years. Any thoughts, Stine?” _

The dark shape that had been lagging behind the others speaking replied, pitching his voice to be heard. _ “You know we don’t give out hints Dali. I will tell you that after seeing my own possible futures I  _ choose _ to join your group for this hunt.  _ _ We’ll just have to see how this shake of the hourglass pans out.” _

Speaking again, the first voice a sked : _ “Does that imply you don’t know how this turns out Stine?” _

Even in the front of their column,  Aurogos  could hear the amused snort.  _ “There’s a reason people lost in the Caverns of Time go mad my friend. Past flows into Future with endless eddies thrown into the mix. Fate is ever-changing and rarely kind. Predicting tomorrow perfectly is only possible if one can account for every variable and I don’t think even Aman'Thul can manage that. If you’ll keep this to yourselves?”  _ He paused for a moment until he got a committed yes from all the others taking wing with him. “ _ I did see a future self, or should I say a potential future self going about his business on my way out of the Caverns  _ _ of Time _ _ . I, or rather he looked very chipper and excited in a way I haven’t been in s _ _ ome time _ _ so I have a rather good feeling about this.”  _

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

AN: I’m trying to decide on weapon(s) for Harry. Right now the plan is to have him learn to fight with magic and a blade, but I find myself torn as to what to give him. A one handed sword and a wand, and/or a spear that doubles as a focus are my main thoughts. I welcome other’s o pinions . 


	4. Chapter 4: More Dragons? More Dragons!

I don't own Harry Potter or Warcraft. Reviews put a smile on my face!

Chapter 4: _More_ Dragons? More Dragons!

That  Sunday  in October  dawned bright  and clear in Scotland. At Hogwarts, the panic that had started Friday night when portions of the Hogwarts wards seemed to go crazy had mostly subsided as there seemed to be no immediate danger. 

_In fact, the drained wards are recharging a g_ _ood deal_ _faster than they should_ _be_ _,_ thought Albus Dumbledore, sitting in his office as he enjoyed a hot cup of tea while enjoying the frankly spectacular view of the grounds and surrounding mountains. _I wonder if there_ _has_ _been_ _some_ _change_ _in_ _the ley-lines under the castle? It is very rare, but they do shift. In fact, no reason to delay_ _asking the lead unspeakable to do a survey of the surrounding lines._ He concluded as he picked up his wand and sent out a Patronus spell before continuing his morning tea.

Later the survey results would be mixed, but conclude that at least two of the more accessible lines had reversed the direction of their flow and increased  slightly  in size. This neatly solved the mystery as far as everyone investigating was concerned. A shift in the lines explained all the odd behavior of the wards, but the Ministry and  H eadmaster really should have looked into the cause of the shift a bit more. In truth, not just two, but all of the ley-lines had shifted directions, now flowing _ away _ from the castle as vast amounts of magical energy poured in from an unassuming blue o val . 

That power flowed through the runes that regulated it, down into the stones and eventually down into the earth itself.  It also saturated the air around the portal.  Most magicals of Britain did not know why Hogwarts was a boarding school, or why it was in such a remote place. In truth, wizards and witches as they mature benefit from a high saturation of magical energy, and Hogwarts Castle provided the highest saturation possible  in the hemisphere . 

Most of the inhabitants of the castle would begin to, on and o ff , notice a small buzzing sensation as the year went on. Poppy Pomfrey never would discover the reason, as it was not the effect of a spell or disease. In fact, it was wholly the effect of living in a place where the saturation of magic suddenly doubled in two days. Then again a week later. And then again three weeks after that. Then again two months after that. And one more time in M ay before leveling off  at a level that was so far beyond any recorded that it would just be assumed that the equipment or scale was wrong.

Why was the saturation skyrocketing? Well, it was simply a matter of equalizing pressure from one world to another.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

On a positive turn, Harry’s recurring nightmares ha d been chased away by the roughly  seven -hundred pounds of  dragon  that was cuddling him like a toddler would a teddy bear. On a less positive one, he really needed to use the restroom and he was being held in place; and Caliona was a lot stronger than he was. In fact, between the wing above him, the tail on his lap, and what he couldn’t determine as a rear or front limb, he wasn’t even sure which way to wiggle right now.  _ Well if I can’t force my way out, or slip away from a limb here, I wonder if she’s ticklish?  _

From there it only took a little work to find out the right spot. Most of the scales were too thick, but when he reached the soft spot under the base of her wing, he got a twitch. A little more work and she shifted enough for him to escape. He found he was still the first one awake when he returned to the room, and the room was kind enough to provide a clock and some magical windows. As he noticed it was almost seven in the morning he thought about asking for some tea, but remembered the room seemed unable to make food. (He wasn’t actually sure if the water in the pool was real water taken from elsewhere in the castle or some kind of construct like everything else R oom brought forth . )

Sitting down to look at some of his notes  Harry saw the small rune stone  Ralion had given him.  Examining it more closely he was intrigued at how it worked with just a few runes carved into the right kind of stone; it made him wonder for a moment about other kinds of magic that could be made from runes. Suddenly his decision not to take the  Ancient Runes class seemed to  not be his brightest idea. 

Looking around  reminded him that the  other group should be f inding the portal soon. Based on what he’d heard, a stable portal would be cause for endless concern given the history on Azeroth, he hoped he could defuse the situation peacefully. To be honest,  he was really tempted to step through the portal just to see what was on the other side. Well, besides a dusty cave anyway. Seeing a whole new world  seemed so exciting , even if it was dangerous as hell apparently. In any case, he had a good amount of time before the pathway collapsed  so he could go e xploring at some point  later on. 

For now,  it was  time to finish looking at the information for the Fidelius Charm, if he wasn’t strong enough to cast it he could probably tap a little power off the runic circle at the other side. In any case,  Harry decided that if Dobby decided to join his family he would certainly say yes because just as he was about to ask for some tea he had found some already waiting for him.  _ Crazy little guy’s trying hard to make a good impression. _

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

“We’re directly above the arcane disturbance, but it must be in a cave below. Shaman, can you tell us if there’s an entrance nearby or if we need to dig?”

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

As morning progressed, nightly fasts were broken all across the country. Sirius checked in with Harry and told him he’d be sending Kreacher to Hogwarts  today with a slightly better version of the mirrors they were using; he’d had Remus send a few well-made folding mirrors from the muggle world with a new owl on his way out of the country for a bit. Harry replied that he was fine, and nothing was happening at Hogwarts other than  h e was still feeling a strange buzzing sensation.  That was attributed to the ritual yesterday, and could probably be ignored for now. 

Later, w hen Kreacher found his Masters heir, he did not quite expect him to be sharing  light snacks with four dragons  and a girl that had spent the summer at Number 12 . Luckily they seemed oddly well behaved, so he  approached the boy-who-might-be-heir-t o -the-Blacks. 

Experiences with Buckbeak informing his actions, he approached only after he had been noticed by the dragons. Standing before Harry, he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. The chance of completing the Task he’d been left kept him polite, and he drew on every lesson on comportment he’d ever observed, determined to get this _right_. After handing over the new mirrors and accepting the old one (never want the mirror to fall into the wrong hands) he started to plead his case to the boy.

“Many years ago, Master Regulus Black stole an item from the Dark Lord and died for it. He tasked Kreacher with its destruction, but Kreacher has always failed in his favorite master’s Last Task.  Master Sirius has told  Kreacher  that H alfblood heir could find  the venom of a  Basilisk or  a d ragon’s  f ire so Kreacher could finish his task. So Kreacher comes here and asks, and sees that Master’ s heir is s nacking with dragons.” 

Harry, g ave the small,  oddly polite creature a nod. “I will ask. And if they can not or will not help, there should be a Basilisk corpse with venom in its fangs down in the Chamber.” 

Turning to Ralion, he spoke. _Ƥ_ _: “_ _Ralion, this creature has a magical locket he claims was stolen from a wizard that’s been trying to kill me since I was a toddler. It was the last request of his favored master that he destroy it, but he’s been unable to. Would you consent to making an attempt? I think you can breath fire or poison, or I have no idea what that sack under your_ _jaw_ _is for_ _.”_

_ Đ: “ _ _ You’re right. Uh, you might want to make a space to burn this. Twilight Flames should work on consuming items as they do flesh, but stopping them from also consuming the castle will require a bit of care.  _ _ It shouldn’t get badly out of control, extinguishing our own flames was a lesson Tendrion was firm we learn, but better safe than sorry. _ _ ” _

A few moments and a section of the room expanded and a wide area was covered in a platform of soapstone above granite. Kreacher could barely contain his  excitement as he placed the locket in the middle of the platform. Everyone came to stand at the edge and watched as Talion had to gesture the house-elf back three times. 

When he was clear, Ralion took a deep breath (Only wishing  a little  for the stronger fires he’d have once he grew from drake to dragon.) and spat out dark blue hungering flames. Coming a little closer, his own flames not a danger, he watched the locket as its first protections b egan to falter . He breathed again, a smaller, more fine stream directly onto the locket before he felt the first touches of his Flight’s absorption kick in. 

Early Twilight Dragons gained much of their strength from absorbing Nether drakes, but this had been refined later on.  Though not a completely efficient process, the magical properties of the Twilight Flame stole the strength of those it burned, adding some of their capacity for magic to the dragon’s own. For a small piece of equipment, even  accounting for  it  being heavily enchanted, this was proving to be a n unexpectedly rich meal. 

The onlookers were becoming worried at how long this was taking, until the tiny piece of metal screamed and  let out a cloud that resolved briefly into a human-like figure cloaked in shadow. R alion ’s thoughts on  u ndeath mostly re volved around wishing everyone would do the sensible thing and _ burn their dead _ . So he took his own advice and buried the a pparition under a torrent of flames until there was nothing left at all. Seeing the house-elf fall down to its knees  in relief Ralion moved back over to the onlookers and offered his thoughts.  _ Đ: “ _ _ If that wasn’t a phylactery I’m a  _ _ chicken _ _ .” _

It only took a gentle elbow nudge from Hermione to get Harry to admit there was a noun there of some unknown significance, but he had no idea what it was.  Luckily with his ability to make conversation through the language and species divides and the book-conjuring power of the Room of Requirement, they soon had worked out a rather horrifying answer. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Learning that Voldemort was alive because he had split his soul caused a fair amount of disquiet, even among creatures that knew of, and had encountered a Lich at one point. On the plus side, Voldemort retained his flesh by keeping part of his soul inside his physical form, but the dragons shuddered at the thought of the instability and insanity that would likely come from splitting one’s own soul. The fact that there was at least two pieces in objects that they knew of was horrifying.

Once again, they were eating a late lunch and trying to plan how to get the dragons unseen through the castle; Harry had just remembered how the real Moody had been found in his trunk and they were trying to figure out how to use something similar when the small rune stone sitting on the table began to vibrate. The six of them (Hermione being slightly out of the loop but having good advice to toss in anyway.) had after discussing their options decided to wait to cast the Fidelius until after making contact with that other group. 

Also, since Harry was the only one that could communicate with the pursuing drakes and not be attacked on sight he would go through and talk to them. He knew it might take a little while to get through the Draconic Parseltounge divide as he had with the speakers in the room. (Now almost never missing a word, and when he did it was a word he wasn’t familiar with in English.) They figured the hunters had probably heard Ralion shouting orders at some point, so the usually quiet Caliona, with somewhat raspy but functional vocal chords that got to answer the receiver as she opened a connection with her magic. _Đ: “_ _There is no immediate threat._ _Stay out of the water and_ _do not kill the human about to come through the portal, please confirm.”_

_ “Confirmed, we will not kill the human without provocation.”  _ Harry shrugged at that as he prepared to go through. Though he didn’t know that Dobby had been raiding the lost and found for him, he did prefer the new, better fitting boots, pants, and shirt. A wand holster with an enchanted release was proving very handy as well. Taking a deep breath he willed control of the room to Hermione as planned just after crossing and restoring the barrier around the portal. With a smile on his face, he walked up to it and paused slightly.

“One small step for man...” And stepping through, got to briefly see a dusty  and mostly dark cave  before the room started to spin and he passed out. Luckily he was caught by a young man in brown leather armor as he quickly sheathed his daggers and rushed forward before Harry found out how hard  the  rocks were on this planet. 

Fortunately he was only out for a few moments before he started to come around.  Opening his eyes he saw what, in better lighting might have been a blue dragon circling the runic circle that sat on the ground below this side’s portal. He did notice a different shade of dragon seemingly talking into her talon.  _ Đ: “ _ _ ...a little magic intoxication, he should be fine in a few moments. Wait, he’s coming around now. Are you certain you want him to handle the explanations to us? Fine then, no need to be rude.”  _

Coming around to stand directly in front of him, she started to converse. “ _ I have no idea why, but the dragon on the other end said to speak to you in Draconic, can you understand me, mortal?” _

Falling back into what was becoming a familiar  tongue he hissed a reply.  _ Ƥ: “ _ _ Yes. My name is Harry Potter, may I ask yours?” _

_ Đ:  _ _ “Strange way of speech you have there. My name is Alira of the Green Dragonflight. We’re hunting a group of five dangerous creatures that seem to have  _ _ used magic far beyond what they should have been capable of. In addition to being twisted monsters, they’ve abducted at least one of our friends. Your people are in danger, but we’re hesitant to enter another world uninvited. Have you seen them?” _

_ Ƥ: “ _ _ I’ve had a very interesting couple of days actually. I don’t know if you’re going to believe me, to be honest.”  _ Harry closed his eyes as the room was still trying to spin on him. 

_ Đ: “ _ _ Just tell me what’s happened please. Time is of the essence.” _

_ Ƥ: “ _ _ Alright, but dragon at the portal, please don’t tinker with it. I don’t know what would happen on this end, but if it destabilizes on the other end before the energy leaches out it’s going to destroy a school and town.”  _ That got a gruff response from the dragon that he wasn’t crazy or stupid as three other dragons stepped forward. 

Harry was still trying to keep his eyes closed. He wasn’t sure what magic intoxication was, but it was making him nauseous. _“All right. The night before last, on the my world, I have no idea the time here, I was_ _asleep_ _having my normal nightmare when everything just cleared, instantly._

_“I found myself in a forest with massive trees and gleaming magical shafts of moonlight. I saw figures in the distance, and then I just knew things, like the receiving set of runes for the one you see on the floor there. Wait, I didn’t notice that before, did I get another language jammed in my head too?”_

Pausing for a moment, he opened his eyes and looked at the Night Elf woman in ornate robes with some kind of blatantly magical,  glowing staff across her back. “Good fortune to your family. How is the weather here? One the other side it’s getting a bit cold, I almost need to break out my heavy s hirt s .” 

That got people’s attention. Especially the Night Elf’s. “You speak my native tongue, but in a very old dialect young man. I have not heard some of those inflections spoken aloud in a millennium. How is this possible?”

Continuing in a language that had only recently been renamed Darnassian, Harry r esponded . “I think I was given a dream from a being called Elune several nights ago. The leader of the dragons you were hunting was apparently a decent guy trying to do the best he could, and he traded his eternal service to Elune for getting the ones he cared off this world, away from the Old Gods.”

Looking at him like a teacher would a wayward student, eyes boring into him she confirmed his suspicions. “I would normally think you a liar for saying that child. But, probably at the same time you were granted a vision, Elune touched my mind for the first time and implored me to keep our group in camp for a full day. It required a show of Her strength to cow some members of our group, but we waited until the appointed time to continue. Did the Goddess’s intervention cleanse the taint from those dragons?”

Sighing, and again closing his eyes, the room’s spinning was slow ing , but still making him feel sick. Harry had no idea what that he had the full attention of every dragon in the room and basically everyone but the human in leather that didn’t speak the language. 

“Yes and no. I don’t think it’s possible to break their oaths and purge the corruption outright without killing them. From what I understand, it might not be possible at all on this world. But what she did do was free their minds for a time. I, I’ve had to stop one of them from killing himself so far, after he got the wounds on his friends treated  he broke down and all the things he’d done, the things he’d been  _ forced _ to  _ enjoy _ caught up with him. When they found out that their reprieve was temporary, they became desperate, all four of them.” 

Alira, drawing attention to herself by stepping forward broke in with perfect Darnassian. “We have searched for a way to purge the corruption of the old gods for a very long time. We have found no thing but the freedom of death m ortal .”

Sighing, Harry shakily stood up and looked her in the eye at his full height. “Did you ever try great amounts of distance from the corrupti ng agent and then overlaying that oath with a stronger one?” That did indeed get everyone attention. 

Swinging around and stomping towards him, the Blue dragon began demanding, also in Darnassian (Hey, learning a new language can kill good amounts of time in a constructive way. Dragons have a shelf life of roughly ten to fifteen thousand years so they have plenty of time to kill.) “What are you talking about, what oath? Are you saying you’ve found a way to free  sentient s from the grip of the old gods when we’ve been failing for ten thousand years?”

Looking the a gitated dragon right in the eyes Harry responded. “I don’t know if you have the same traditions, but my people have a way to bind people to honor agreements with magic, some stronger ways involve using blood as a binding agent. We found out from the Twilight Dragons that when they were in their eggs, they were tortured mercilessly until they gave in and g ave a binding oath to accept your enemies as their gods  simply to escape the pain .” 

All five of them looked more than a little sick at that. No just individual ever condones the torture of children. “We almost didn’t figure it out in time, but it turns out that not all oaths are equal. The intent behind them matters, like my godfather said,  _ love _ is stronger than  _ hate _ .  Not to mention that an oath given at gunpoint isn’t as strong as one given in good faith, add in the distance, a physical binder of blood, and that portal apparently doing something to keep the evil on this side...”

Alira jumped forward into Harry’s face. “With all that you were able to free them? You mean we don’t have to kill them anymore?!”

Quickly suppressin g a wince,  Harry responded. “They’re free of what was binding them before, but now they’re bound to me instead. Given that Elune apparently sent them to me specifically, they made the choice  to use the binding ritual . I haven’t heard complaints yet, but they’re not completely free, and I’m not sure if they ever will be. Also, now that you’re close I see that you’re still damp. I’m going to step back and make a quick call with my mirror  if you’ll excuse me.” 

Flipping open a seemingly simple mirror, Harry was heard calling out a word in English before seeing a teenage girl’s face show up. A few rapidly said words and Ralion’s face was showing quickly.  _ Ƥ: “ _ _ Ralion, tell me quickly  _ why _ you wanted them to stay out of the water.”  _ Harry was focused enough on the mirror that he failed to notice the green snout looking over his shoulder.

Even through the mirror Alira and Harry could tell that Ralion was drooping, ashamed of himself.  _ “The water was supposed to be an obstacle to make them detour around or try digging a new tunnel! They were supposed to notice what was wrong and avoid it! It’s not the first time we’ve set traps to slow them down!” _

_“_ **Ralion** _**.** What was in the water?”_

_ “I’m  _ _ so  _ _ sorry.  _ _ Nineteen standard crystal vials of Faceless blood from one we ambushed and killed _ _ .”  _ Five drakes serving under the Wyrmrest Accord hissed violently in shock.  _ “If any significant amount  _ _ of  _ _ t _ _ hat _ _ blood were to come in contact with them for long or be ingested, it would slowly infect them like a  _ _ plague. _ _ I’m so sorry my Lord.”  _

A voice in English came back as the image on the mirror swapped to the bushy-haired teenager again. “Harry, is everything all right over there? The dragons here are looking depressed and guilty again.”

“I think it will be okay in the long run Hermione, but we might have five more joining me for the same reason as the others are staying. Can you alter the barrier around the portal so there’s room for five drakes and myself to stand, but keep it sealed? I’ll see you when I see you, I might be here for a while.”

Turning around, glad the room had stopped spinning, Harry saw that Alira was actually crying into the Night Elf’s lap, while the human rogue and werewolf(?) with a r ather large rifle were standing near the only entrance looking confused. The other four dragons were just looking despondent.  He focused on the entrance again when a, well he wasn’t quite sure what it was except that it was sort human shaped with very broad shoulders,  an extra knee, with on e bending in the opposite  direction  of the upper one did, some kind of tail and wearing chainmail came back and said something to a dragon that was waiting near the door. 

When that dragon’s wings drooped just a bit, Harry figured he knew what the news was. Never the less, t he drake moved forward resolutely. Nodding to Harry as he placed himself in the middle of the group of dragons.  _ Đ: “ _ _ I’m sorry friends. Malaru confirmed the water we swam through and some of us drank bears the taint of the old gods.  _ _ From everything I know we’re now doomed to walk the path of Neltharion in his descent. If it’s any  _ _ consolation _ _ , I think the mortals are safe;  _ _ carrying them above the water seems to have spared them. _ _ They’ve been hunting faithfully with us since  _ _ we first struck at the _ _ Twilight, so at least we won’t drag them down with us. I don’t really know what else to say.” _

Harry waited for him to finish before speaking, trying to give them some hope. (He  _ knew _ what it was like to have no hope.)  “ Life on my world isn’t perfect.” He started with, gaining their attention. “There’s  still evil and I have  human enemies that want to destroy me for their own power. But on the plus side, as far I know we don’t have evil gods corrupting our people’s thoughts. I’ve been planning on moving the other drakes into a h idden chamber , and make it so they can hunt in the nearby forest at night. There will be plenty of food for all of you, and I think if you let me I can keep you from falling into what you fear right now. 

“I can’t make many promises, but if you let me I will do everything I can to help you. To keep the horrors of your world away from mine I’m planning to use a spell that should remove this cavern from everyone’s memories and keep others from finding it. I think I can keep my world safe until the portal fails. I wish I could give you a lot of time to make a decision,  but I c an ’t.  Use the stone if you wish, as far as I can tell, Ralion, Vespiona, Caliona, and Talion are  intelligent creatures horrified with the things they’ve done as slaves to evil. We’ve been discussing a lot of things so far.  Think it over p lease , I have some stones to set up.”

As Harry pulled out a small case from his pocket that had an expansion charm on it, and took out a few simple ward stones Hermione had carved to encourage living things to stay away he was surprised when the Blue drake walked over and began examining them. Preempting any questions, he started speaking in Darnassian. “It’s already a forgone conclusion mortal. I doubt you noticed, but  Siara, the elf priestess was asked to use her mind arts on you before you came through. Nothing invasive, but enough to tell us if you were lying. I’m curious about these glyphs, I’ve never seen scripts like them before.”

“I think they’re Old Norse, I haven’t studied them, my friend on the other side carved them for me. At times I  regret not choosing to study Ancient Runes, tha t class would certainly be more useful than the  one I went with.”

Letting out a loud sigh as he took one of the ward stones and examined it  carefully, the dragon responded. “Mortal, if I’m going to fall into your service, you should know I won’t accept a leader who is lazy or uneducated. Between the five of us that will be coming with you, we have a good deal of knowledge and over t wo hundred years of experience in this world. If you want to learn, there is much we can teach you, but it will take long hours of study. I assume you are a user of magic?” 

Receiving a nod the drake smirked. “Then I do have much to teach you young one. My name is  Aurogos  of the Blue Dragonflight,  and I spent twenty years as a student of S enegos before the Nexus War. Here, you can set up these stones, I need to prepare a report for these mortals to return to Wyrmrest Temple with. Last thing, there was a female Red dragon abducted by the...”

“Valistraza. As far as I know she’s perfectly healthy inside some kind of pink stasis sphere. And if she wants to stay, I have no problem  granting her what protection I can . I’m told she was trying to flee Azeroth on her own, and the Twilight group convinced them to travel with them. Tendrion,  the drake that seems to have been free of the darkness, made a deal with her that the whole group was honoring.”

“Why on Azeroth would a clutching female try to… Oh. I suppose that does happen at times. Her mate?” At Harry’s downcast eyes he had enough of an answer. “That explains what she was doing traveling  alone in that state then . We never did fin d out a good reason.”

Leaving Harry to his work, setting the aversion wards and preparing for casting the Fidelius,  Aurogos  walked over to his pack and prepared his people’s version of a memo. One plus was that with enough mental discipline one could prepare an entire report ahead of time and simply w ill it directly into the  golden metal disc.  Normally the devices were color-coded for the different Flights of dragons, but this one was special, marking it as very important. After a few moments of running his magic through the device he sealed it by turning an inner section clockwise until it locked and drew out another, more plain version. 

Switching to the language known as Common, a descriptive if uninspired name, he addressed the Night Elf priestess Siara Moonshadow. “This is my last report to the Wyrmrest Temple. I’ve made it Aspect Eyes only, please ensure it is given directly to either Alexstrasza  or Ysera and they understand to only view it in private. This second disk is less important, but it’s fair that we give it to you. My group was infected by a trap left behind, and we’re going to follow in the footsteps of the Black Flight if we stay on this world.  There’s hope for us on the other side of this portal.  You have all proven loyal and skilled and we regret parting ways. 

“I ask you for anything you can spare that might prove useful to us on the other side, especially any gems or such that improve mental focus. Any plant seeds or metals or even worked items would be helpful. Enchanted bags would be greatly appreciated, books you don’t need or can replace even more so. When you reach Wyrmrest Temple, present this second disc to the quartermaster for reimbursement and the agreed payment for our hunt. Thank you again mortals. And, we wish you luck in all of your pursuits. Remain safe, brothers and sister in blood.” 

That said, he bowed low to the Human lurking in the shadows, the Night Elf priest leaning against the cavern’s wall, the Worgen and the Draenei shaman preparing a totem to burn away the corrupt water a few tunnels over on the way out. They bowed low in return and began emptying their traveling packs for anything useful. With the continual introduction of bags even larger on the inside than previous versions, (And the fact that the standard enchanted backpack standard to all adventurers across the world can hold other a number of enchanted bags within it.) this would take a while, but be rather profitable for those heading to Earth. 

_ Praise the Titans for mortal packrats! _ The Blue thought as he rejoined  the  discussion  in Draconic . As he had surmised, it was  the conclusion that, while not happy about their options they really had no other c hoice . A leap in the dark was preferable to the fate that awaited them here. Alira and  Dalistraza  were discussing the impressions Siara had shared about the young man, as when the subject matter turned interesting, she started taking a deeper look at what kind of person he was. Brave, loyal, and smarter than he thought he was but with deep insecurities stemming from something about his family and not really having the strength that came from a family, clan, or Flight. 

_ Well as far as starting points, we could have done a lot, lot worse. It doesn’t seem like he would sell us out or use us as slaves against his enemies.  _ The Blue drake thought as he watched the teen begin drawing a series of symbols on the walls of the cave. He was referencing several sheets of paper as he went, and it looked to be a rather complex spell, so  t he  teen might have some real potential. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Back on Earth, Hermione had decided to keep busy. She had used the mirror given to her to speak with Sirius about the ritual binding, and their conversation had started to rabbit-trail quickly. The young woman found that whatever had happened to Sirius recently, he seemed altogether more coherent than the man she had met s poken to her third year or over the summer.  His intelligence surprised her, as did his eclectic mix of magical knowledge. 

“You have no idea the work that went into some of the Marauder’s pranks Hermione. Grades don’t really matter outside of school, just your NEWT scores really, or OWLs if you don’t make it that far. I think we got a better education learning what we needed to accomplish our goals than we ever did in the classroom. Heck, it’s not like they teach you to become an Animagus in class, and even  _ Wormtail  _ managed it eventually. Classes are all right for most students, but there’s so much more to learn.  Honestly, the learning behind the pranks is most of the reason I was hoping Harry would follow in his father’s footsteps. If this war gets anywhere near as bad as the last one, I’d keep Fred and George as close friends. They aren’t _ smart _ so much as they’re _ clever _ and I promise they’ll come up with some useful things when they need to.”

While they waited for word from Harry, Sirius promising the mirror would switch to the new ‘call’ as soon as Harry tried contacting her, Hermione Granger enjoyed what was almost a lecture on facets of magic not taught at Hogwarts. Eventually house elves came up, and when she made her views known, he countered with a different argument.

“Hermione, something I don’t think you realize is that different species aren’t human. I don’t say this to denigrate them, but while they might be similar in some respects, if you expect them to share your beliefs, your way of thinking, you are going to be disappointed at best, or end up dead or worse. Take house elves. Do you know what happens to them when they’re free, truly free? You don’t, or you wouldn’t be trying to free them. 

“Originally, house elves were a creature that took delight in chaos. They never really cared if humans were hurt,  but they had a _ need _ to see other’s lives shaken out of the ordinary. They didn’t always mean for people to get hurt and die, but that doesn’t change the number of deaths they caused. Eventually wizards rounded them all up, but one of the greatest of that time implored the other magicals to allow him to attempt to alter them before they were all killed. In the end, he was successful and changed their need for  _ chaos _ to a need to  _ serve _ . 

“He altered their _purpose,_ which is no easy feat. It turned out, however, that the creatures were actually drawing energy from the results of their actions, so for the creatures to remain alive they draw a small amount of magic from the people they bind themselves to. Maybe you read that squibs aren’t allowed house elves? That’s because the drain is enough to kill them, and then the elf usually commits suicide or goes insane.”

A number of thoughts ran through the teen’s mind. “So the muggle myths of gremlins...”

“Probably true accounts that survived the Statute of Secrecy. Either that or there’s a few of the original creatures that escaped, but if they did their numbers are so low they haven’t been a significant problem in a long time.”

After that exchange, the call ended. Hermione had been given a lot to think about.  Later, she had spoken to Dobby  and the small creature had affirmed what Sirius had said. A fter Dobby mentioned wanting to be Harry  Potter ’s Elf someday, Hermione decided to try to hasten that as much as she could since the little guy already seemed to be lacking in stability. Though he  did  seem to have a great deal of purpose  in aiding Harry. After some thought, she decided Sirius’s advice of not trying to hold non-humans to a human standard was  very sound.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

It took just over an hour for Harry to finish drawing all the needed symbols on the walls, floor and ceiling of the cave and just a little longer for the other humanoids to finish going through their bags. Apparently used to carrying everything he owned with him at all times, the Draenei Malaru had a significant amount of gems with him. Harry learned when he asked asked, (Through the Night Elf that was already finished sorting her items.) that the Draenei Shaman was cutting them into shapes that would improve one’s mind and spell casting by a small amount. There was a serious pile of items ready to come with them, even a good bit of foodstuffs. Harry found he could read one of the books, it was a manual on some of the priestly magics and looked rather interesting. It didn’t take much longer for the man with blue skin and hooves to finish the last peice of jewelry he had the items to craft, apparently the gems would only give a benefit if they were set in a special slot. 

As  Harry had been preparing for his spell, the dragons had asked  if the jewelcrafter could create an item for the young human. After some discussion, a necklace made from mostly from pearls and a little mithril wire was produced. It didn’t look like much more than a simple necklace  with two gleaming gems; one yellow and the other red. I t was a small simple pendant w ould look at home on a man or woman. Alira  explained to Harry as she handed it to him it was a magical item that should provide a minor boost to his mind, spell power, and precision. 

H arry felt a small surge as he looped it around his neck  and s tartled  badly . He got laughs from everyone when he jumped, but apparently that was a normal reaction for first timers feeling an item binding itself to  them . It would now serve no other until many years after he died.  (Assuming the item survived his death.) Apparently a quirk of the materials it was made of, the item would  also  soak small amounts of pure water  through his skin . It wouldn’t be enough to prevent dehydration, but it would slow the process if he couldn’t get water when he needed it. 

Harry tried to stay out of the way as the group said their final farewells and loaded all the items into bags as Aurogos made a tally  and recorded the list into the blue metal disc before locking  it  as he did with the other and handing it  to the Night Elf . When they were ready, Harry explained that the group not coming needed to be outside this cavern and that they might be disoriented by the magic. After that, four notes were written and stuck to the mortal’s shirts, giving only needed information so they could get out safely and clear the tainted pool. As soon as they were out, Harry Potter started casting the Fidelius Charm. He’d decided to make himself the secret keeper and had taken some advice to hide both the existence of the cave and portal.

Half an hour later, a very sweaty teenager grinned at the extremely disoriented dragons, cast a silencing charm at the cave entrance and spoke a carefully considered line. “The portal that leads to Earth is itself in a cave under Stranglethorn Vale, on the most southern part of the Eastern Kingdoms on the planet Azeroth.”  H arry was fortunate that only a few people knew about either the cave or the portal. He saw one of the Red drakes watch the mortals outside the entrance read the notes tucked into their shirts, shrug and move off to burn out the trap that had poisoned the  drakes .

Again Harry wa s surprised at how expressive these dragons were at times as he saw most of them putting up a brave front  for the most part , but Alira looking very forlorn with a tear leaking down her face. Stepping up to her, he touched her face gently and wiped it away.  _ Ƥ: “ _ _ I know its going to be a whole new world for you, but I give you my word that I’ll do everything I can for all nine of you to survive and thrive on it. Believe me, please.” _

When she nodded her head, Harry picked up as many bags as he could carry and walked through the swirling blue doorway between worlds.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Harry did not expect to see Professor McGonagall talking with Hermione in front a small fire with dinner sitting in front of them when he stepped through. After just a few moments the other five followed with Alira touching her head to Harry’s shoulder, now revealed in the light as beautiful creature of emerald scales and tan fading into a shade of red on her wing webbing. The additional armored plates and around her talons also bore tan with a bit of red on them. 

Seeing that his best friend and their Head of House had noticed him, he spoke to them. “Hermione, see if you can make the room detect any dangerous diseases or anything else you can think of that might be tagging along with us. Then purge it if you can.”

Nodding Hermione closed her eyes for a moment concentrating. “I don’t think there was anything the room could get rid of other than a few mold spores. Good thinking though, want me to open the barrier?” At a positive response she brought the barrier that was around the portal down, then up again after they all walked though.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Minerva McGonagall had been quite off balance since the meeting with Sirius yesterday. After she signed the contract with Sirius, she’d soon received a rather good book on Occlumency and had been brushing up in her quarters every spare moment. At first she really wanted to ignore Sirius, but performing a broad detection spell on herself for mental spells had given a positive result. When she’d contacted Sirius this morning after that very surly elf had delivered a mirror and some simple instructions he had assured her that it was pointless to remove the compulsions before she could  prevent  new ones. Not to mention disastrous if the perpetrator found out they were on to him before they were ready. 

When she had asked about what he meant he’d responded “Imagine if the people all around you w er e spelled to believe that you’d switched to the Dark Lord’s side of the war with no evidence  and that they needed to silence you. And worse, your mind would be r ifled through  and the traitor would know we were on to him .” 

_ That _ had convinced her to instead study hard and make some plans to help Harry, who for whatever reason was a central figure in the war. After Harry had stepped through the portal, Hermione had contacted  the Professor with the  mirror now in a pocket, apparently horrified that the call phrase was “Here kitty kitty.” After checking herself for tracking charms, she had gone to the seventh floor of the castle and was looking at a strange painting when a door appeared behind her and Hermione ushered her through.

As M inerva understood it, th is room would become anything they needed, and she was just slightly concerned when the door disappeared behind her. Summoning all her powers of student intimidation she had asked Miss Granger where Harry was and what trouble he was embroiled in this time. Her composure as a stern Professor slipped mightily when she was interrupted b y the three dragons  that  slipped out of the shadows and took up p rotective positions around her student. 

She was more surprised when Miss Granger told her they didn’t speak English, and that they must not have liked her tone.  After Hermione got them to calm down and showed her Head of House to a seat, the room became much more well lit and proved to contain a rather odd collection of items. Though the large bed, swirling blue oval, and steaming pool were enough to ask questions, the forth dragon coming up to the other three and  _ conversing _ in some language she had never heard before immediately got her attention. 

Miss Granger introducing her to the  four dragons was a strange experience, and what odd names. Over the next hour, Hermione served tea brought to them by an elf she wasn’t familiar with and explained the situation as she knew it. Harry was apparently dealing with something on another world just then. Usually Minerva would have scoffed at that, but this was Harry Potter, a boy that drew trouble to him  like no one else she had ever met . 

In the end,  Minerva McGonagall was only a little surprised when Harry led five more dragons of new colors  out of the portal and gestured towards the steaming pool as a few more brushes appeared out of nowhere. As he joined her at the table, she could see the boy was covered in sweat and seemed dead tired, though he was perking up a bit. “ Mr. Potter, trouble seems to have found you again. May I ask what you have been doing just now?”

Though tired and sweaty, the boy had a wide grin on his face as he set down an empty glass of water. “I just cast a Fidelius Charm on the cave on the other side of the portal. It took a lot out of me, but it’s stable.” 

Looking at the dragons for a moment he hissed briefly at them, and got a response in their rather rough, growling tongue.  The colorful newcomers moved into the pool, seeming to revel in the hot water.  Th e boy nodded and then said a sentence in  _ another _ strange tongue. The dragons that had assembled around him seemed to relax and settle down, but they all choose to sit rather close to the boy as most of them watched the others,  now over in t he steaming pool us ed the brushes to clean each other. 

“Before you ask, that was a language called Darnassian, and it seems I got it jammed into my head Friday night. I’m fluent, but apparently I speak a very old dialect. Oh, Hermione? After the dragons are finished, have the room vanish the water and brushes, okay? Thanks. Do you two mind if we eat? I’m starved.”

“ Harry, was that the Secret?”  Hermione inquired.  The boy in the middle of adding a large quantity of pasta to his plate nodded. “I suppose putting the secret in English might not make sense, but I still have no idea where it leads, other than apparently somewhere with dragons.” 

As soon Harry finished chewing his slice of garlic bread he responded. “I thought that might happen. How do you feel about learning ‘elvish’ when we have time Hermione?”

Minerva could see the girl was shocked as she nodded and the boy went back to consuming as much food as he could, though he retained good etiquette  while doing so. The boy was certainly eating like he had been doing a lot of spellcasting. He was still eating, putting to shame the polite amounts of food she and her star Gryffindor were consuming when the new dragons were finished bathing. Harry hissed something at them, and when the y exited the pool, b oth pool  and  water and all vanished, then a new pool formed and a system of very strong shower heads appeared for a moment before they struck the poor dragons from all directions for a few moments. All that water soon vanished also, leaving dragons that were dry walking over to them through the clouds of steam that had been created.  Harry set his food aside, finished for now. 

Her eyes saw that the first four dragons were clearly nervous. They hadn’t touched their food yet, despite looking thin around the ribs. After several moments going back and forth Harry introduced them one by one, apparently in two languages. 

“This is Alira of the Green Dragonflight of Azeroth, (Gesturing to  a lithe G reen dragon with tan on her  wings and underside .) Aurogos of the Blue Dragonflight of Azeroth, (Motioning to the  larger and  rather m ore muscled scarred  Blue dragon with a beautiful azure hue to his wings and tail club, with a darker blue on his main body. _ And are those runes? It looks like it’s hide was tattooed...) _ the siblings Dalistraza and Senastrasz of the Red Dragonflight of Azeroth. (Here H arry indicated  the two Reds,  mostly covered in crimson scales save for the webbing of their wings and their underside  which were white .  Dalistraza had a much more feminine build while Senastrasz bore both muscles and scars. ) 

“ A nd  this is  Stine ( H ere he motioned to the last  of the second group , a Bronze dragon that seemed to be built for speed  rather  than strength.  He was covered in Bronze scales, with a light brown for his wing webbing and underside. ) of the Bronze Dragonflight of Azeroth.  And this is Ralion and his sister Vespiona, and Caliona, (Here he indicated the two drakes w ith dark purple scales , then the  dark blue  one.) Twilight Dragons of Azeroth formerly associated with the Twilight Cult of Azeroth. 

“This is Talion, (here Harry indicated the final creature, a Black and brilliant orange creature) a Black Dragon, who claims his only association as a member of the group started by Tendrion.  Professor, they’re going to be staying here on this world now with the others, because of what awaits them back at home.” 

Without being asked, Alira had carefully  stepped over to the first group of dragons and was gently peeling back the bandage over the least active dragon’s throat. After wincing at the wound that was just starting to bleed again, she slowly raised her  claw,  glowing  with  green  light  and touched the woun d as it slowly receded into healthy flesh. Every eye had been on her as she worked, and she shirked back when she noticed t he attention .

Minerva noticed that when Harry walked up to her with what must have been comforting words she leaned into the awkward attempt at a comforting touch he gave. After a few moments she started running her f orelimbs all across the  once injured dragon, then the other three before  giving obvious  good bills of health with a few c aveats .  (Years of dealing with Poppy allowed her to understand that much even with the language barrier.) 

When  the Green joined the rest of them at the table, she saw the other settings and shocked all three humans when instead of a dragon, there was a purple humanoid with  long backward flowing ears,  forest green hair,  and  softly glowing  green  eyes ringed with small tattoos inspired by vines.  In fact, her whole group suddenly changed forms. 

A young man with powder blue hair and almost crystalline blue eyes along with the young woman with long red hair and  soft, motherly features proved to be the most normal. The other  R ed dragon had shifted into a similar, but different variety of elf, shorter,  with  lightly bronzed skin. Senastrasz’s ears were more vertical than  horizontal and the only thing that would  mark him from being different from a normal elf was his striking red eyes. 

Stine, on the other hand, could possibly draw more attention to himself in his humanoid form. Instead of the upright, four  limbed forms of his fellows, he had become a smaller version of the local centaurs, only instead of being meshed with a horse, he had a humanoid torso with orange  and black striped  fur and a cat’s head with extra long ears atop an orange tiger. After a few exchanges  in their respective magical tounges , Harry, seemingly very amused, pulled out his mirror and told it “Paddy.”

When Sirius answered the mirror, Harry after checking he couldn’t be overheard, started sweeping across the room with the mirror. “Hey Sirius, just as an update we’ve collected more dragons here at Hogwarts, but I’ve just found out their species has the ability to turn into a humanoid form at will, sort of like the animagus transformation we use.  It’s not so hard for them to learn really, but what it does take is for them to find a shape they like. 

“You have Alira, the Green dragon, whose form is a Night Elf. And yes, I spoke to one of them on the other side, she was  pretty , a bout seven feet tall , and at least a thousand years old. Aurogos and Dalistraza both take a human appearance, which  would fit in fine most places. Dali’s brother Senastrasz is a different kind of elf, you can notice the height, skin tone and ears. Last, we have Stine, who apparently thinks these cat-people called Tol’vir are cool. 

“These guys are staying cause they’re in a similar boat, having fallen  in to the liquid e vil that  causes the same problems the others had. So, we have four dragons that can fit in  with a bit of work,  and one guy that will attract _ more _ notice when he’s not a Bronze Dragon the size of a horse. Anyway, just wanted to let you know what was going on, have a nice night.” After that Harry hissed a bit and everyone came up to the table that now had enough chairs and places.

Dobby seemed to be on to something with the liver stew and  hearts. In fact, the stew was so nutritious the kitchen elves were working on getting the seasoning just right and adding it to the  general  menu. Spicy grilled (also sometimes fried, smoked,  and baked) hearts, sadly, were still going to be a  dragon only dish. As were the seasoned bones. Poor Minerva was wondering why she hadn’t been served any of the interesting looking white dumplings in sauce until she saw one of the purple dragons, apparently getting a few etiquette tips from the  green  dragon with a gentle bearing, crunch into what she realized was a piece of bone.  _ Ah, well I would have to say that they  _ are _ predators. I certainly can’t imagine them as anything but apex predators.  _ _ Our cook must be that crazy house-elf that’s so adored of Mr. Potter.  _

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

During the de s sert course, a sweet layered cake that the S tine and t he dragons  in their natural forms skipped, but everyone else found to be very good, Harry decided to broach a subject he had been thinking of since before casting the Fidelius. “Professor, what would be involved with dropping divination?  I’ve found there’s nothing really worthwhile for me to learn in that class.”

“You would have to add another class Mr. Potter, and catching up to your fellows would be difficult.”

“I was wondering if I could self-study or join the third-year’s rune class. I’ve realized my laziness led me to wasting that elective slot, but in my defense I really had no idea what  _ any _ of the classes were about when I made my decision. After finding out a bit about what runes can do I’ve decided that seems like a much better use of my time.”

“ Hmm, I will speak to Professor Babbling. Her feelings on Professor Trelawney will likely help you there.  Self-study will be needed to catch up with your yearmates, but  a good way to prove you are serious about the subject would be to spend some time with the younger students until  you  pro gress past that year’s materials in your private study.  I will let you know sometime tomorrow. Now, what are your plans with these creatures going forward?”

“My first goal is to keep them safe, and then get them speaking  English as quickly as possible. Right now, they can understand Parseltongue and I can understand Draconic without much trouble, but that isn’t good enough. Also, now that I know they can  take different forms like this,  I’d like them to learn that skill. Was the reason they’re here at all explained to you already? I’m glad I don’t have to explain it then.” 

Standing,  Harry stepped back a bit from the table moving to stand next to the various drakes that were sitting together at the other end of the table. “ Dobby, I promise to pay you back as soon as I can, but can we get five more of those silver goblets? The style doesn’t matter but the metal does.” 

Dessert left the table and  one by one, old silver goblets started appearing on the table. Harry decided that he liked having plausible deniability just in case his little friend was also a little thief and helping himself to precious metal drinking vessels. 

(Those fears were unfounded. Although Dobby did have to recruit help to secure these goblets from the Room of Lost things. There was simply a vast amount of objects that had piled up in the last millennia that were no longer owned by anyone.  In fact he had heard about there being even more dragons in the pink ball, so he’d asked the other elves to help him find all the silver items in the room, if needed they would be reforged if needed. Not counting the silver coins, there was a rather large quantity already there. )

_ Ƥ:  _ _ “ _ _ I don’t know how long you five have until that evil starts tearing  _ _ at your minds. From what I understand it will start small and gradually strengthen until you’re nothing like you are now. I propose that we get this over with now, if you are willing.”  _

Seeing Alira look so downcast he walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. He really didn’t know what to say so he just stood there and kept up a bit of human contact while he spoke again.  _ “Ralion, I want your group to explain the ritual you shared, all right? Let me know when they’re ready. I think we need to move you guys tonight, and it’ll be a long one before we have the Chamber set up.  _ _ I want you four to start learning the shapeshifting trick, having a human or near-human form would make things easier.”  _

Harry moved over to the open area in front of the portal, Hermione holding the silver knife from last night as she came to stand before him. He was surprised when just a few moments later Aurogos stood before him in his natural form holding one of the silver goblets. At Harry’s surprised look, he simply shrugged.  _ Đ: “ _ _ Our memories are excellent. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” _

Once more, the ritual played out, and Aurogos joined the House Potter. Stretching his form out, he looked at his left front palm for a moment.  _ “Hmm, the ritual healed the cut, I wasn’t expecting that. To be honest, this really doesn’t feel bad at all. Did you know  _ _ that magic often contain _ _ s _ _ an impression or taste of the one from whom it originated? I’ve served under an Aspect whose touch felt a _ _ rrogant _ _ , cruel and mad my Lord. From what I can sense of  _ you  _ life here won’t be awful.”  _

Turning his head to where the others were grouped he called out.  _ “Alira, you should go next. You’re worrying needlessly.” _

As soon as the silver once-cup settled around  the Green Dragon’s forelimb, Harry found himself  in a very powerful hug. Through the other three rituals she refused to let go of him, eventually ended up wrapped around him she  fell asleep .  After Dalistraza, the last to complete the ritual, finished poking at the silver band that now decorated her  forelimb with a talon she leaned in close. 

_ “Thank you for being kind to her my Lord. Alira is the youngest of us five, and the most unsuited to war. She was in training to be a  _ _ B _ _ roodmother before she was pressed into service, and she never had the temperament for battle. I think if we had been facing any enemy other than Tendrion’s group she’d have been long dead. I remember  _ _ when _ _ fighting that group more than once he either spared her or m _ _ ade _ _ the others to spare her.  _

_ “She’s become a dear friend, so please take care of her my Lord. She really hasn’t been the same since the first Twilight band we were chasing down left  _ _ us in a cave with  _ _ t _ _ wo _ _ d _ _ ozen _ _ dead whelps, so we’ve been  _ _ trying to offer what comfort we can. My Blue friend was right that we can sense a lot of what makes you, you, my Lord. That’s wh _ _ y _ _ she’s trying to wrap herself a _ _ round you _ _ right now. I don’t think she’s really felt safe in years.”  _

Ultimately disentangling himself, he saw that Hermione had demonstrated an expansion charm on an old trunk and after a few tries Aurogos had crafted an enchantment that would allow a second trunk to both be expanded and shrunk for easy carrying. Dobby had brought the personal brooms for Harry and the Professor which went into the trunk, and given a few spare items, a ladder and simple furniture had been transfigured in the interior space. 

While the Room of Requirement was a nice temporary hiding place, it was felt that a place with a ready escape route was needed, just in case everything went badly. Harry quickly explained what he’d been told about the  G reen drake  while the humans watched the two groups of drakes begin to hesitantly interact. When they were nearly ready, and Alira had woken up, Harry repeated the same commands he had with the first group. He got agreement from the drakes that there was nothing onerous  or objectionable there. He got a hug from Alira he only broke because they needed to get going. 

After the room provided a confirmation that their leaving would not destabilize the portal, and Dobby promised to make sure that the House Elves knew to stay away they  prepared to head down into the Chamber of Secrets. Harry would use his invisibility cloak,  walking alongside the Professor to Myrtle’s bathroom while Hermione would ride in the trunk with the drakes and all the items they had with them.  She found herself cautiously examined by the green dragon but when she offered a smile she found herself embraced by the creature’s elfin form until Harry brought them out. Luckily she was already sitting comfortably on the transfigured couch at the time. Between  the  warm embrace and  gentle rocking of the trunk she found herself enjoying a pleasant nap for the entire journey.

Outside, Harry “required”  the room  to lock itself so that it would only open for him, preserving the safety of all involved  while the portal slowly bled off energy. (Aurogos agreed with Harry’s initial supposition that the portal would need to bleed off slowly or else explode violently. His guess was that it would take at least a year, and then he started  planning out addition ward schemes for the other side.) Outside and invisible,  Harry talked to his Head of House as they strolled along. “Thank you for agreeing to help us Professor. This is already the most helpful any of the staff has ever been. I have no idea what shape the Basilisk will be in, but now that I think of it, it was very cold down there so maybe that has slowed the decay.”

“It’s possible Mr. Potter. It’s also possible that the creature’s own magic has slowed the process. We won’t know until we get there, it could be anything from a skeleton and pile of goop, to a fully preserved carcass.  Did no one ever point out the potential value? I can’t imagine anyone preventing you from claiming it for yourself after killing it.”

“I suppose I’ve just learned to keep my head down as much as possible. Hey, do you think Olivander could have used any part of the snake for wands?”

Minerva was silent for several moments as they passed by several students making their way from the library to Ravenclaw Tower.

“It’s possible. To be honest, the most common wand cores in this country happen to be the most readily available. Unicorn hair and dragon heartstring and fairly easy to acquire, so they get used in many creations. I know in America Thunderbird feathers are common wand cores, along with some other native creatures. If anything of that carcass is salvageable, Olivander would likely be very interested in acquiring pieces for his craft. Have you thought of a cover story for your absence these last few days? Unfortunately, people have noticed.”

“Professor, after seeing that expansion charm in action, I’ve found myself very curious about the limits of such expansion charms. I also find myself wondering, hypothetically of course, what the results of the p ower surging through the castle could have had, if I had been revising in the common room in a n expanded space, say a mouse hole, that I had found and m ade into  a cozy little study room for myself? ”

“ Hahaha, Mr. Potter, are you saying that your cover story is that you were lost in an enormous mouse hole this whole time?”

“If the story is at all pl ausible , yes. It’s believable for the students doesn’t and doesn’t paint me in a terrible light. To be honest, if you tell people the space was so large I had been using my broom for over a day and h adn’t f ound my way out it will even make people think before they try using the spell for something similar.  You can say you went looking for me and when you asked the elves they mentioned the new space in the tower needing to be cleaned. ”

“Well, when all that power surged through the wards it really could have done any number of things in this case. I will have to add to the announcement that you were quite lucky the expansion went outward instead of inward.  Two student s in a normal mouse hole would be more than cozy.”

“Let’s go with that then, to be honest it sounds like the kind of thing one should expect at a  s chool  for magic . Ah, we’re almost there. Let me check the map before we head in, it’s probably empty save for a certain ghost, but I’d like to keep this out of the rumor mill.” After taking a moment to check the map as they drew close, he decided they were fine. “Professor, the way down is a slide, would you like your broom  now ?” 

Soon both teacher and student were dismounting their brooms at the bottom of the tunnel, having come across the giant snake skin and  were moving towards  the cave-in.  Minerva was t rying very, very hard to  not think about how a skinny little twelve year old boy had faced a creature that had shed that skin.  After a  quiet stroll, they came to  the  cave-in. 

Turning to the pile of rocks, Minerva first cast a few charms to give her an impression of how stable the rest of the ceiling was. (During the last war, she had been called on many times to search rubble for survivors, a job that got much easier when the rubble obeyed your will.) After but a moment of thought, she began swishing her wand back and forth and smiled at the impressed face of her student  as he observed. Quickly the debris turned into spiders before climbing back into the  ceiling , there m elting into a single mass that prevented further collapse,  flowing into the various cracks like water and solidifying as stone. In only a few moments the hallway was clear again, the Professor taking a moment to wipe a few drops of sweat from her brow. “ Impressive  bit of magic , wish I knew how to do that. Suddenly Transfiguration seems like a much more interesting c lass .”

Smiling as she checked the stability of the rest of the tunnel, her charm returning a yellow color with a bit of green mixed in, (Suggesting the structure was stable for the time being but would need some structural work soon.)  she started to speak again.

“Mr Potter, your godfather requested I begin giving you additional lessons, including using transfiguration in combat and some of the preparation for the Animagus  transformation .  He thinks you have enough power to use transfiguration for combat, and given that you’ve successfully cast the Fidelius,  I would agree. Combat transfiguration is all about making everything that exists your weapon; it requires power, quick reflexes, and creativity.  _ If  _ you apply yourself, I think you can manage that very well.”

“ Professor, I can’t imagine Umbridge letting that happen, and since the staff policy is apparently to let her do anything she wants...” Harry trailed off, idly rubbing the scars on the back of his hand, no w covered by his sleeve.

“It’s true that foul woman would attempt to p revent any lessons, she’s going after you because the Headmaster is far out of her weight class. But if you were to  earn some detentions with me, well that is another thing entirely. A professor d ecides what punishment a student requires , and if  I find you’re not putting enough effort into your assignments, why perhaps you might require re medial lessons.  Ah,  another door. It seems Salazar Slytherin was a  rather egotistical man a fter all. ” 

Indeed, with a bit more light  the door Harry had last seen as a terrified twelve year old look ed even more impressive and imposing  with additional light; it wasn’t possible for the door to have more snakes carved into it . 

“Professor,  last time I was here the Basilisk corpse is just beyond this door.  By any chance  do you know a spell for cleansing the air?”  It turned out the b ubblehead charms caused a strange sensation at first, but it was much better than what could be behind that door.  _ Ƥ _ _ : “ _ _ Open!” _

Now getting a little more used to hearing parseltongue, Minerva only flinched a little as  one of her favorite (Not that she would admit that favoritism to  _ just _ anyone.) students opened the final door into the main cavern of the Chamber of Secrets. It was truly a grand hall, though it had fallen on hard times,  caked in grime and most of the apparent inbuilt lighting charms having failed long ago. The structure resembled a  cathedral c olored in green and silver ,  it must have been beautiful when it was new. 

Looking around, she saw a rather large form and nearly bolted from it, even knowing it was dead ahead of time.  It was most certainly a fully mature female basilisk, nearly a full sixty feet long  and a dark green color in their wand light. As they drew closer, there was no rot at all. In fact, it seemed as if the creature had just fallen dead moments ago. If not for the pool of blood and the venom that had eaten into the stone she’d be more worried it was still alive. 

While still keeping her eyes on the snake in case it actually wasn’t dead yet, she ran through a number of charms to check the air quality. Her results indicated that the magic responsible for maintaining the air down here h ad failed, but it was still breathable for the moment . She watched Harry  cautiously stalk around to the front of the creature, his wand held ready. She let out a breath of relief when he told her that the thing was certainly _ not _ breathing, it was just very well preserved.

Regrouping, the both of  them  decid ed to  head to another section of the chamber  before the teen removed the trunk from his pocket and restored it to its usual size .  A rather colorful assortment of dragons soon poured forth, along with Ms. Granger. She watched as Harry told them that this place was far under the ground, but the general structure was in need of some shoring up and the air spells and lighting were mostly toast. 

Minerva watched the blue dragon, a seeming leader of the second group begin directing the others to start exploring as he got a small  spherical  piece of gray stone from his pack and started carving  it  with a talon. Curious, she wandered over and watched him carve runes from a language she’d never seen before into the stone before holding it in both claws and focusing for a moment until the runes began to glow softly and the entire stone started to float out of his hands. She watched it almost reach the ceiling before coming to rest, and found the air quality was improving.  Not a bad job for something done so quickly.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Harry was watching Aurogos give orders to secure the Chamber. The drake had asked him before hand, pointing o ut he wasn’t familiar with their capabilities yet. It was a good point, not to mention Harry was more than mildly uncomfortable giving commands, luckily the dragons seemed to accept that for now. He just observed and walked around hissing open at anything that might be a door; the group’s instruction was to report any passages or rooms before going into them. 

As the one with the most knowledge of runes, and magic in general, Aurogos was crafting a few basic run ic devices for air quality and light; he’d be working on something to shore up the structure once they had a better idea of what all was down here. 

After an hour or so, it seemed as if there was no surface exits, (Yet, anyway. Harry had gathered Talion’s ‘specialty’ was magic involving earth, or rather the moving of it. With some practice  an escape tunnel should be easy for him .) but there had been a surprise regarding the Basilisk corpse, when Harry had asked if they knew h ow it was so well preserved . Stine had been called over to take a look, and his eyes had started to glow amber when he reached it as he spaced out for a few moments. 

When he came back to the others, he would only say that his  Dragon flight sometimes left messages like this for themselves and others, and after a hurried explanation to Harry regarding the charge of the Bronze Dragonflight, time travel and causality, Stine had asked his Lord not to directly order the Bronze drake to reveal certain things. After a few words with Hermione about time turners, he agreed with Stine and asked him to reveal only the parts the drake felt were safe. 

Apparently, Time was less permeable here than on Azeroth for some reason, and direct travel was impossible  for him on this world . After requesting a privacy spell Stine told Harry that the primary wardstone this group was going to repair was still somewhat functional when he killed the Basilisk, so using some interesting sounding magic and not replacing the stone he incorporated a bit of h is Flight’s magic into the object. Because it was the same object the ward stone in the past was able to squeeze a little Bronze magic out and preserve the corpse as soon as Harry left the room several years ago. 

This certainly was a surprise. _Ƥ_ _: “_ _That explains your magic, or at least starts to. What about the others? I don’t know much, certainly not enough.”_

_ Đ: “ _ _ Of course my Lord. You might have picked up that our colors denote us belonging to a different group, called a Dragonflight or simply  _ _ a _ _ Flight. The Black Dragonflight are gifted with powers over soil, rock, and magma. Talion will need some practice, as I can’t tell you if his gifts are linked to all earth or just the stuff on Azeroth.  _ _ A Black Dragon’s breath is m _ _ agma or _ _ what we call Shadowflame, but without the old gods that might change. _

_ “ _ _ Put simply, magic is the domain of the Blue Dragonflight, all the p _ _ urposes _ _ it’s put to and maintenance of the ley-lines  _ _ are their tasks; Aurogos has been studying magic for nearly s _ _ ixty _ _ years.  _ _ A Blue’s breath is usually either frost or raw magic, depending on the individual.  _

_ “ _ _ Green Dragons have dominion over nature, and power over dreams. I’m not sure yet if this world has it or not, but on Azeroth their largest task is to maintain and protect the Emerald Dream, it’s a separate plane of existence that intersects ours, especially for sleeping minds.  _ _ A Green dragon’s breath is potent poison  _ _ or acid _ _ .  _

_ “Red dragons have powers over life; like the Green they can encourage plant growth but their true power is healing. As they grow older and stronger their healing powers grow with them; if your body is brought before a mature Red, odds are they can heal you so long as your soul still resides in your mortal coil. A Red’s breath is a flame that can heal, purify,  _ _ or burn; it _ _ is  _ _ also _ _ a p _ _ owerful _ _ bane to the undead.  _

_“_ _The_ _Twilight_ _Flight is a bit different._ _I do know they_ _have an ability that turns them translucent and allows physical attacks and most magic attacks to pass right through them; however this state seems to drain their strength quickly and they can’t maintain it for very long. When I’ve seen one do it, it’s been an instinctive reaction, usually to what would be a killing or maiming blow. Their breath attack is a blue, hungry flame that_ _likes_ _cling_ _ing_ _to_ _living things until there’s nothing left but_ charred bones _and_ ash.”

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

“ Hello Sirius, good news on our end tonight. The Chamber of Secrets will work as a base, Aurogos already has a few runic devices floating around to improve the air, and they’re looking for the damaged wardstone to repair and improve. It turns out Aurogos knows enough about runes to fill a dozen books. So far we haven’t found any passages with surface access, but once the place has been stabilized digging one should be easy. Anyway, I’m calling about the state of the Basilisk; it’s intact, preserved by powerful magic in the state it was when Harry walked out of the room after killing it. Do you have any suggestions on things we could use it for? 

“I’m assuming it’s valuable for potions or what have you, and Harry’s mentioned the dragons have started discussing the benefits and disadvantages of building something called an Arcane Guardian out of the thing’s skeleton. To quote: “Necromancy is only for those too lazy to spend the time carving runes, and no student of Senegos is  _ lazy. _ ” Apparently the dragons are planning on constructing golems as soon as they get settled.”

“ It’s intact? Can you show it to me?” After letting him see her nod, Hermione walked over to the thing and revealed it in all it’s glory.  “ That is a very, very big snake. I can’t really believe Harry killed that at twelve.” Sirius paused for a moment to think. 

“Okay, you want to know what to do with it? If he’d managed to kill it with the eyes intact you could harvest them for a n incredible amount of gold , but since they’re toast, the rest of it is much less  valuable. Venom is probably the biggest value, but we might want to hold onto that to use in the war. Blood is useful, I assume, in various potions, and I’d guess the heart for wands. If we use dragon heartstring Basilisk ought to work just as well or better. We should save the best part for Harry. Something he killed himself in defense of others, terrified but going forward anyway, at great risk to himself might  work better for him than anyone else . 

“ You can make leather out of the hide, but I have no idea what properties it might have, it’s clearly magical though so it ought to do something. Same for the meat. I’ll start  looking for more info, there’s a chance my library has something even that room you were in doesn’t. Also, I don’t know how to put it delicately, so I’ll just say it. There’s a whole branch of rituals that deal with absorbing strength from a fallen foe or sacrifice.  _ Most  _ of them I wouldn’t let anyone I liked touch with a ten-foot pole, truly dark magic, but there might be some that are neutral, gray magic if you excuse the term.”

“Rituals, Sirius? Like the one after the third task?!” Hermione  demanded loudly, a bit of her rule-following zeal breaking through.

“ Hermione, in almost every case with magic, intent decides the magic’s purpose. Some magic does corrupt, does cause a change in the user. Also, there are a lot of rituals that are truly dark; even the sane members of the dark families stay away from them because magic like that takes something from you. My grandfather Arcturus Black was a hard man, and he terrified me growing up. Even though he was part of the darkest family in Britain, I can remember the lectures he made us all sit through about knowing what rituals not to perform. He p ounded into our heads never to perform any ritual with the words ‘forcibly taken’ or that sacrificed a sentient creature. Or to trust anyone that had, because those rituals are an easy path to power that curse you as much as forcibly taken unicorn blood, if not as dramatically. 

“But, other rituals are benign and useful. We won’t rush into this, but I think between us we can find a ritual where a hunter takes strength from a worth y prey or enemy defeated in defense of others.  Safe rituals probably won’t be a single key to Harry surviving his next encounter with the Dark Lord, but being just a little faster, casting just a few more spells or casting one just a bit harder could make all the difference. We both want Harry to  survive this war.  Just don’t go rushing in, check with me before you guys perform anything.  Using the wrong ritual or making a mistake during one is nearly impossible to fix.”

“Wait, if there’s rituals that aren’t actually dark then why do the books...”

“Hermione, the  content of those books are c ontrolled by the same people who say I’m a convicted felon  who murdered Pettigrew ,  and Harry is a dangerous lunatic liar. The Ministry for centuries has been trying to limit the magic people can do and how they use what they’re still allowed to. 

“We don’t have time for a full lecture, but the point is that the Ministry doesn’t want its people to be powerful, or to think for themselves. They use the label ‘dark’ on anything they don’t want people to use, and it has been effective. You need to remember that  for some people, having power over others is a h unger, a goal ;  it’s addicting and  once they get a taste they’ll always want  _ more _ . Just think about it, please. I think you’re smart enough to understand how the world really works, not just how it appears to work.

“One last thing before I go; I’m going to have Kreature bring you and Harry a book, and I want you to read it and learn the magic within. It’s dead useful, but you need to keep it a secret from everyone but Harry. You’ll understand when you start to read it, but I’ve found some evidence the  Order has a traitor like we did last time around, but they seem more skilled than Wormtail. Have a good night Hermione, Harry looks busy so I’ll talk to him another time.”

Hermione Granger took some time to herself before rejoining the others. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

When most of the other tasks had been dealt with, the group prepared to tackle the Basilisk Chamber. No one had any idea what was inside, so everyone had donned a pair of thick sunglasses transfigured by Professor McGonagall and then given what amounted to a quick and dirty temporary enchantment by the dragons. (Mostly Senastrasz and Dalistraza actually. It seems that Life magic is a counter to most instant-kill spells and such. Just in case that wasn’t enough, Aurogos added a piece of magic that should reflect any possible death glares.) Harry had to chuckle at what the dragons were wearing. Glasses simply were not practical for creatures without ears, thus the ones in their natural forms wore goggles with a wide elastic band around the spikes at the back of their heads.

Harry found himself agreeing with his Professor as he stood before the statue, everyone ready to open the last chamber.  Salazar did have a high opinion of himself.  Stine,  at the base was ready to quickly climb into the opening, the extra limbs with the retractable claws looking to come in handy. Harry agreed with the drake that the Tol’vir form was  both interesting and useful; Stine apparently had dealt with a fair amount of scorn from all kinds of dragons for it as the mortal form was meant to be use d for blending in with ‘mortals.’ (A bit of a condescending term, but considering comparative life  expectancies not a  shocking one.) 

Harry however agreed that if you were going to have a second form, it might as well be one you enjoyed. In any case, everyone was ready now.  _ Ƥ: “ _ _ Hear me Slytherin, Greatest of the Hogwarts Four!” _ When the mouth opened and nothing exited, Stine leaped up,  reaching ten feet off the floor, landing on a nearly vertical section of stone before bounding off hard stone and repeating the process before coming to rest  just outside the statue’s mouth.

Stine, taking a moment to stick his head inside after hearing no movement sampled the air inside. Pulling his head back out, he looked down.  _ Đ:  _ _ “It seems pretty dead in there, the air’s awful too.” _

Harry turned to his Head of House. “Professor, can you throw out bubblehead charms please?” He gestured to Ralion, Senastrasz, Aurogos, Dalistraza, and himself. During chat that had been going on while they secured the other rooms (The results had honestly been a little disappointing honestly; a private library that was emptied completely being the main source of disappointment. A bathroom and bedroom might be useful once they’d refreshed the magic for the amenities, but mostly the place was just empty rooms.) he’d learned a little about how they tended to work in teams.

There was usually an individual that could weather strikes in the front, fortified with magic or armor.  (Usually both.)  Sometimes g roups had more agile fighters that  slipped in behind the foe while the burly one distracted it. Beyond that, groups usually had a healer that would restore wounds at a distance while others cast various forms of magic or used ranged weapons (And sometimes weapons with magical shots, Harry wasn’t sure how that worked yet, but found he wanted to.) to cause damage. 

H arry had learned that Senastrasz was the main ‘tank’ (Not a term in any Azerothian tongue, but it was the best fit in English for the meaning behind the Draconic used.) for the hunters,  while the hunted never used the traditional formation because they were outclassed in numbers, equipment, and skills. Tendrion had apparently been a skillful leader, not losing any of his friends despite literally the whole rest of the world being against them. Senastrasz had said hunting their group was like chasing smoke and fighting shadows, which made sense in hindsight given that Tendrion was trying very hard for n either group to suffer casualties.

Now Harry was going to be part of their little formation as they cleared out a possible nest of very deadly creatures.  _ I _ _ f _ there was anything alive up there, the general plan was simply to burn everything, but there didn’t seem to be much chance of that. Stine still hadn’t heard anything  move, and with those ears of his he really should have. As soon as his (a rather odd thought for the teen) dragons were ready,  Harry levitated all four of them up, Senastrasz and Ralion  disappearing into the hole first  as he mounted his broom and followed quickly. 

When he entered he found nothing living besides his dragons. There was a great deal of old rodent bones littering the floor, and  huge heaps of clinging dust. Small stones were there, no one had any idea what they were until Aurogos found a small fragment bearing Norse runes, similar to what he’d seen Hermione working with for her runes class.  _ Ƥ: “ _ _ I’d bet that was part of a large rock with runes for heat on it. I’ve seen small rocks with muggle heating elements in them in stores for pet snakes. I guess Slytherin’s was just larger.  _ _ I don’t know why it’s in pieces though.”  _

_ Đ: “ _ _ Hmm, there’s some indentations in the wall here,”  _ Commented Aurogos as he ran his hands along a sh allow mark on the otherwise smooth stone wall. _ “I’d say that the creature was in its death throes if I didn’t already know the story. It was alive a long time, who knows what events it saw over the years. In any case, I think we should clean this place out my Lord. I _ _ can sense a good deal more magic in here than in any other room, so it seems like a good candidate for  _ _ the  _ _ hiding place of the wardstone.”  _

_ Ƥ: “ _ _ All right, but I don’t want the mess just vanished, there might be something buried under it. I’ll call up the others now.”  _

The y voiced their agreement as Aurogos pulled out some surprisingly handy souvenirs he’d picked up  some decades before.  Using a bit of magic to sift through a pile of dust, he looked over to one of the  enchanted  brooms  and lost himself in thought for a time.  Without meaning to, he began to hum a  slow,  mournful song in Thalassian:

“Oh, Quel'Thalas, the Golden Realm, how bright, how shining you stood.

How great,  how terrible your fall. 

Oh how we loved your grace and song, all your joy i n life. 

Oh, Golden Realm, how dark, how bleak the day they came for you.

When the dead defiled your ancient lands your children, they could not hold.

Oh, how t he Elves  fell , though they fought with all they had ...”

Hermione looked curious, but Harry just caught her eyes and shook his head. He didn’t know the story, but the language was close enough to the one he knew that he could tell it wasn’t a happy one.

As they sifted through the piles of dust the humans and the other drakes were finding some things, so it seemed that  his new lord had been prudent after all. Aurogos wasn’t clear on the value of the old scales, shed fangs and a fair bit of magically-wrought weapon and armor fragments, but more resources certainly couldn’t hurt. Finally, he saw the hints of a stone hatch under a clump of dust, and using his  magic to  link to the broom s had them focus on that spot. 

Soon, a rune cluster in a script he wasn’t familiar with was revealed, he’d have to study “Old Norse,” whatever that was that his lord’s friend was talking about. Once he learned the new runes there would be no problems, even if he had to abandon the old stone and create something from scratch. Not that he wanted to do that, the longer a ward stone had a charge of magic going through it, the better it got; as far as he knew they never became sentient, but they often became more and more eager to please as they aged. (Also, for lack of a better term, _quirky._ Things like odd music playing, things moving on their own, etc.) 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Thankfully, the room was cleared quickly. Most had been amused at the enchanted brooms, and glad not to sweep the place up on their own. The great piles of dust had been ruled “Probably old straw, and other expected things for a snake nest.” Old scales had been expected, the small pile of goblin armor and weapons fragments had not been. There were even a few swords and a dagger still intact in their sheathes, no one was quite sure how they had gotten here, but a boon is a boon. 

It was nice to have a rune master with them, Harry thought as he watched Aurogos transcribe notes on the script in his mortal form. It turned out he was confident in his ability to learn the needed runes because he was already a master in three other types, Draconic, (Aggressively defensive, unyielding before foes and dangerous to use unless you were a speaker of Draconic) Dwarven, (Runes of Hearth, Family, and the Unassailable Fortress) and Vrykul. (Runes of Warfare, The Sea, and the Well-Laid Trap) Aurogos was also at least a journeyman level in every other widely-known script of Azeroth. When they cleared the last of the dust, it was already getting late, nearly midnight. 

Their plan was to accomplish as much as they c ould tonight, and then the three humans would take the next day off, Minerva claiming she found them during the night, collapsed the expansion and sealed the mouse hole just before the students began to rise.

Now that things were calming down for the moment, Harry asked to speak to Alira and Stine for a moment. _Ƥ: “_ _Alira, I’m still learning about you and the others, and about what you can do. Right now, we need to teach all nine of you English, and Ralion and the others need to learn how to take another form like you can. I was wondering, your powers of Dreams, could you join u_ _s together while we sleep, so that we share the same lucid dream?”_

Still very cuddly, Alira looked up from where she’d been having the spines on the back of her head scratched. _Đ:_ _“Yes, but it would require physical, skin to scale contact since I’m not very powerful yet. But the sleep would be less restful than normal, if I remember some of the lessons on humans right you’d need at least ten hours of sleep to be rested, and that might not be enough when you’ve been up to so much. Dreams, even if people don’t remember them, are essential to our minds processing our days, resting and recharging for the next. We couldn’t do this every night without great harm coming to you, my lord.”_

Gently rubbing her cheek, Harry revealed his plan _._ _Ƥ: “_ _I have an idea, and I want the both of you to tell me if you think it might work. Stine, you told me you have powers over time. Would it be possible to use them, while we are all in a group dream to speed up time only in the dream itself, so that we could have more time to teach and learn from each other? To be honest, I’m really hoping to learn from Aurogos and the rest of you too.”_

This caused a good deal of thought and some rapid-fire discussion between the two. Soon, they turned back to him with what seemed like smiles on their faces. Stine spoke for both of them. _Đ: “_ _I’ve never heard of such a thing working, but with some effort we can make this work. We’ll need a small dream portal, for me to bodily enter the Emerald Dream, or whatever s_ _ubstitute exists_ _on ‘Earth.’ If I enter the_ _Dream inside a shrunken object, Alira should be able to manage a very small portal. With your leave, she’ll go to sleep briefly now to scout th_ _is world’s_ _Dream and ensure it’s got things like air. While she does that, I will get enough supplies for a while set up in the trunk. If there are any books you want to study_ _I_ _can take them with me.”_

Twenty minutes later, after some explanations to the others, Harry called on Kreature  and added the books Sirius suggested he study. Between Hermione and Dobby the two of them added all the books they could get on the local runic magic, along with some recreational reading material to help teach them English. (Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit almost didn’t make the cut because the dragon was evil, but both were added to the trunk with some assorted works of Issac Asimov and Frank Herbert.)  Professor McGonagall added a few books from her private study as well. 

There was much awkwardness when Harry explained how they were going to do this, sleeping in a pile on a transfigured bed. He t ook a moment to gather the dragons together and speak to them.  _ Ƥ: “ _ _ I know your two groups have been at war. I know you have fought each other many times. What I want to say is something I explained to Ralion the first night he was here. My people have a dark curse that can take control of another human, being caught using it once is grounds for life imprisonment. In the past it was used to make  _ _ men murder their own families, and commit all kinds of heinous crimes. When they were caught, the one who cast the spell was the criminal, and one who committed crimes under its influence was another victim.” _

Harry paused a moment to run his hand through his hair and let that point sink in. “ _ From what they’ve told me, Twilight Dragons are made from eggs stolen from other flights. Once stolen, powerful substances were poured over the eggs and magic was used to torture them into submi _ _ ssion _ _ to the Old Gods.  _ _ When they crossed the portal, enough of that darkness was pulled away so they could see the horror of what they’d been forced to do.”  _

Ralion and the others found themselves feeling very small and morose, so Harry walked over and rubbed their heads one at a time while trying to give a comforting smile. Comforting physical touch was alien to him, but if it worked he would use it to help them. _“All four chose to swear their lives to me when the darkness in them started to claw its way back up._ _Talion in particular had a hard time getting through the oath, the claws in his mind not letting go easily._ _Each of them told me they would rather die than become monsters again, and now they will be my servants until death. As you five are as well._

_ “I know working together will be difficult,  _ _ the war you’ve fought will be hard to put behind all nine of you. But I want you to try. While they seem less dangerous than your enemies, I find myself facing my own government  _ and _ the dark wizard w _ _ orking _ _ to overthrow them. I  _ need _ you all to put away old feuds and learn to work together. If we’re caught, they will try to kill you, if for no other reason than to cause me pain. Can you promise to give me and each your best efforts?” _ One by one the dragons bowed and said they would try to work together.

With a bit more camaraderie, even if it was forced, Stine climbed into the chest. After it was shrunk with a short duration charm, Alira focused hard for a moment and a small green portal formed, just large enough to stick a hand through. Stine was tossed inside quickly. While hesitant, Professor McGonagall transfigured a large bed. The old woman who had once considered both of Harry’s parents as close friends found herself shocked at the number of scars that littered the small teen. She resolved to speak to the boy as soon as possible, or  perhaps  just go and murder the child’s guardians. 

She distracted herself by observing the blush on Miss Granger’s face as she climbed unto the bed after Harry had made himself comfortable and so had the green dragon. Harry’s skin was blemished, but his form showed the results of much  physical activity . In the end, the old teacher was a bit amused at the pile, it seemed that everyone needed to be touching the green one, and Harry had used a sticking charm on  various body parts to prevent them from losing contact during the night.  Apparently both  teens were  wearing transfigured muggle-style bathing suits, though they both seemed terribly immodest to her. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

After some shifting, everyone was as comfortable as they could be. Professor McGonagall was going to wake them just before six am, or when the students in Gryffindor Tower started to stir. That left them a little less than five hours, which when paired with the expected unrestful sleep, should help sell the cover story. For now, Harry was reclining against a pile of pillows, Alira’s head across his chest and her breath playing across his r ight arm. Hermione, dressed in a different bikini than earlier was resting against Alira’s neck and shoulder, while also having her legs draped across  Harry’s stomach. 

From there, it was a whole mess of various dragons touching at least part of themselves to Alira. H arry needed to shift a little and eventually get up to throw sticking charms around, as no one wanted to find out what would happen if the effect of Green and Bronze magic ended unexpectedly. When he snuggled back under Alira and Hermione, he found himself drawn closer to both. Not able to complain, as he was beginning to think there was something to those theories on the benefits of physical touch he’d  started reading yesterday , he just threw the last few sticking charms and closed his eyes. It took him a while to gain sleep, eventually Alira had to wake herself up and with permission use a bit of magic to force him asleep. But finally, he joined the others in the Dream.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I’ve picked out Harry’s first weapon, and he’ll be forging it himself in the future.  Later, he’ll forge at least one other weapon too.  I have all the materials picked out, all the whys of how they make it a good weapon. In a later chapter, the group is going to spend time in the Room of Requirement and use it to create copies of all the weapons they’ve seen, and Harry is going to decide to forge a copy of a weapon from Azeroth called the Spear of Xuen. It’s a spear with a point on the bottom in case you need to stab someone  and  a complex point that will both really cause some damage if it snags you and look great sparking with power.

Here’s a link for it:

https://www.wowhead.com/item=89685/spear-of-xuen#screenshots:id=324326


	5. Chapter 5: Dreaming an Emerald Dream

Edit on 1/15/2021: Just making it easier to read, not changing any plot elements.  This chapter remains a bit of history/backstory avalanche, but hopefully it remains interesting. If you’re new, please keep reading, the next few chapters are much better!

  
  


I don't own Harry Potter or Warcraft. Reviews put a smile on my face!  Our characters get a taste of time-travel Bronze style this chapter. Yes, it’s the normal d irection ,  it’s  but much faster  than normal ! 

Chapter 5: Dreaming an Emerald Dream

When he fell asleep and found himself in the Dream with everyone else, Harry found he could easily see why this place had been named the Emerald Dream. A green mist hung everywhere, and he could feel something in the air that was new to him. He waved a hand through a bit of mist and reveled in the sensation of Life, and Wild Nature that permeated everything. Soon, he followed the sound of voices to the rest of the group. Oddly he found that Stine was the only one that seemed to be completely solid, the others while not translucent, still felt like they weren’t really there.

Alira felt like that as well, but gave off a sense that fully there or not she was part of this realm, that it was her birthright, and that it served her. He smiled as he saw the two groups of dragons mixed together conversing about this or that. Hermione was reading a book Sirius had sent, marked with a note that read “Most Important.”

Stine was making his preparations, carving runes in a pattern around an area about the size of a baseball diamond. Aurogos was giving basic instruction on the “Mortal Form,” and some tips on how to find the right form to wear. (‘Blending in’ was mentioned at least three times in as many minutes, with glances at Stine.) Apparently, Stine had been busy because by the time Harry had been acknowledged by the group and read the title of Hermione’s latest fascination, Stine was ready to activate his array.

Like Tendrion, Stine had enough power to use many more forms of magic than he had the fine control to shape, so he made use of an exterior focus to shape the magic as necessary. Unlike Tendrion, he had been taught many things by various instructors of the Bronze Dragonflight, and had once been given time compression and dilation barrier arrays and instructed to explain why these would not have worked at Ahn'Qiraj. He eventually arrived at the answer that there was no way for such a large barrier to be powered at all, and certainly not safely. Though a small area in a plane of reality not strictly tied to physical properties as the waking world should be doable.

Stine set the compression runes for seventy-three days, as some fast math in his head showed that number to produce the most time for his available power while maintaining the highest stability. There had been some discussion over whether he should be inside or outside the effect, as they had limited supplies preserved; but since no one thought food was going to be their main problem in the days ahead he was staying inside the area of effect.

It didn’t hurt that the array would stay just a little more stable if he remained inside and fed the runes small bits of power as time progressed. Thankfully, Senastrasz had already set up a camp’s latrine ward; a handy bit of magic that converted bodily waste into nutrients in the soil while it eliminated smells along with the positive effect of converting most of the waste water into magical energy that fed the nearest ley-line. Finally done with the last runes, Stine decided to activate it as fast as possible. This realm was a bit unnerving for him, since by its very nature the Emerald Dream altered one’s sense of time.

Little changed when the runes glowed amber for a moment, gave a brighter pulse of light, and settled down to a barely noticeable glow; seemingly to no effect save that the various green hazes outside the marked boundary froze. It wasn’t that they were stopped, only that time withing the sphere marked out by the circle was moving much faster. If you looked very closely and were patient, you could see the glow near where Stine had activated the circle recede around the formed circle. When the glow faded around the entire circle, the effect would end.

Now that they were ready to start, Harry suddenly realized he had no idea how to teach a language to anyone. Hermione, seeing the predicament, walked over to the trunk and levitated out a blackboard with chalk, and a book on English as a Second Language. She got a strong hug and a whispered thanks in return as Harry gestured the dragons around and started using the chalk to write out the English alphabet on the board as he explained the various sounds associated with the letters.

Hermione had decided to let Harry manage the early lessons while she read the books Sirius had sent, something to get her mind off the strange sensation of Harry’s dream body pressed against hers. (They were both still wearing the suits from earlier, but the physical touch here was somehow more, she had felt a burst of his emotions when he touched her.)

Hermione was already through the first chapter when Harry finished writing out the alphabet. The mind arts scared her, to be honest. She could understand why Sirius felt they needed to be protected against, so she learned as much as she could. By the end of the first week, she was already constructing a mental fortress, trying to make it something no wizard would understand.

After discussing it with Harry on one of his breaks where he spoke with her as the dragons worked on teaching those who didn’t know their second form how to attain it she decided to take something from cinema and chose to forge a mock up of a Star Destroyer. She forged it out of living steel that could alter every hallway and deck, turrets and endless warriors and droids everywhere, including Imperial Stormtroopers that had learned to shoot straight. Not to mention the endless holding decks where intruders would be caught in every time-space mambo-jumbo she’d ever seen in science fiction. If an intruder somehow got past all that, various decks would randomly vent into space, where once an intruder was caught in the vacuum an endless hail of fire and fighters would assail them.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

For not being an English teacher Harry still did fairly well, especially after the first few hours as he gained confidence. Everything was strange here, the only individual that required rest or food was Stine, because his physical form was present, interacting with their mental forms. Still, he was able to keep up fairly well. After the first week the dragons began to speak in halting, broken English. Harry suggested they try to say everything in English for now, except if they had questions about words or syntax. From there Hermione began to help, and he spent time learning about mental defenses.

Harry spoke to the others, learning about various places on Azeroth, and trying to decide defenses that would work best. He read Hermione’s collection of books for ideas, and ended up shaping his mental defense as a model of Isengard, surrounded by Fangorn forest. His model had additional water in between the outer walls and tower proper, with huge clumps of trees he was slowly animating into living things. In the event of an attack, as soon as an intruder was sighted, great Ents of every shape and size would spill out of the forest, to reinforce the central tower that was the center of the entire mindscape.

If the main walls were breached, many well-armed (Especially the ones with more than two arms.)Naga would wait until the intruder was nearly at the main tower before spilling out of the water and charging their foe from all sides. He tried to make the Tower of Orthanc as impenetrable as it was in the books, but didn’t quite succeed. Instead he shape the tower to be larger on the inside than out, and filled it with an endless array of creatures.

Deciding to go even farther than that, Harry only left many false memories within that tower. Real ones he kept in a dragon burrow deep beneath the earth with the only way in through so many layers of solid rock apparition. (Once he learned the Azerothian Teleport spell, he would throw up powerful apparition wards within the tower.) If possible, most of the defenses wouldn’t kill, but instead restrain, for with some real work and input from Alira he created a special creature that would attack mental probes and steal knowledge from them. Also, He threw in a bunch of dragon guardians. Every dragon he’d ever seen in life or books even.

Building mental defenses took a great deal of time, but the discussions helped the dragons learn a new language too. By the end of the first month they were mostly fluent, had started their own mental defenses, and the first four had learned most of what they needed to gain their mortal forms. After six weeks had passed everyone could speak English, albeit with strange accents all around. Another week, and the drakes were fully aware of the problems facing Harry Potter, and plans were starting to be forged.

Harry and Hermione were offered training under Aurogos once in the real world and both eagerly accepted. Much of what he would teach them involved sensing magic, of grasping the concepts which eluded concrete definition. Apparently, every student would need to learn to mentally grasp magic in their own way, and each way would differ greatly.

Alira explained that practicing spellcasting in this place wouldn’t be terribly helpful because it was more a dream than a physical place. The two teens did get in much practice with Transfiguration though, at least the visualizing portions anyway. With better organized minds, the teens were able to drastically improve their memory, letting them retain most of the spells in the books added by their Head of House and Harry’s Godfather.

Eight weeks in, they had met all of their primary objectives. Stine offered to break the magic early, but since it was already cast, Harry choose to spend the rest of the time getting to know all of them.

Stine volunteered tales of his service to the Bronze Flight, slipping in and out of the timeways, and some of the very strange fellow Bronze Dragons he’d worked with. Apparently, he had briefly apprenticed under a dragon named Chronormu, (“When she isn’t a dragon, she’s a short gnome. Why? I have no idea.”) until he gave his apologies and resigned, choosing a slightly less strange master to study under. 

Talion told them of hatching from his egg, how his brothers and sister fought and ended the weakest among them, and ho w the survivors were left to fend for themselves in the Badlands. How he survived off carrion and what tiny creatures he could hunt for years; he told them how he spent his first decade avoiding predators, mortal adventurers, and the orcs th at served Nefarion. (Fellow Black or not he in no way wanted to end up as  _ part _ of a Chromatic dragon. Carefully listening to the groups sent to gather whelps paid off.) 

Talion told them he eventually reached the age where he needed a Broodmother’s help to grow, but by then there were none that he knew of.  Needing a Broodmother’s aid,  he  traveled North to where he  felt the  power of the Old Gods t he strongest . He told them that Tendrion took him under his wing and protected him from the violent bullying, how he felt part of a group for the first time as part of the group that eventually  traveled here.  Talion laughed as he told them that he got a lot of jokes about being Tendrion’s ‘cave warmer’ but i t was factually true, if not  as the i mplied insult  intended .  He’d been faithfully serving as a space heater for the group since Tendrion asked him to join.

Senastrasz told them tales about his time as a  Skyrazor, an aerial combat specialist. He  had just turned f ifty years old and clearly remember ed when his Flight was enslaved by orcs and turned against the humans and their allies. He describe d the horror that set in as the magic which bound hi m as a member of the Red Dragonflight was twisted and warped,  how his will wasn’t strong enough to resist. In the spirit of being open, he t old of the degradation of having an orc ride on his back and sacking a human town. 

He described seeing a human woman and several children fleeing and tried to let them go, but the orc told him that if he didn’t kill them now, a dozen whelps would die slowly instead. How he hunted them down, making every tracking mistake that wouldn’t be obvious with tears trailing from his eyes as he chased them down. How gleeful he was when an elven arrow pierced the orc’s head and he felt cold steel against his throat. He’d explained quickly that the orcs had stolen an artifact and bound his kind to their will through their Queen. Senastrasz had told the rangers his speech and mind were his own but his actions were not. 

After that, he was restrained and spent the rest of the war in Gilneas  in a cage next to a h ospital , trading meals for what healing he knew how to perform until he fe lt the binding on him release at long last. The Gilneans were isolationist, but honorable in their own way. Senastrasz had told them all he could about how to exploit the compulsions he was under; it wasn’t as if he minded healing h umans and elves for his meals. 

In the end, a number of other Reds ended up in the same position he was in, an older drake began occupying a cage next door after a few months. His actions h elped a lot of whelps to survive that otherwise would have been killed, he’d heard about a sort of zoo in Quel’ Thalas that consisted of a Broodmother kept in magic chains and every whel p  the Alliance of Lordaeron captured. Yes, they were gawked at by children, but they also lived through the war and di dn’t hurt anyone else once they were caught. (Well, not seriously in any case. Whelps have both sharp teeth and flaming breath, and some injuries are to be expected in the best of times when dealing with them . ) 

Senastrasz told them how he thanked the humans for keeping him out of the fight and for their hospitality. (He’d been kept in a cage, but he at least had room to move and stretch. He’d even been allowed to fly from time to time, because he was growing mad confined to the earth.) Senastrasz spoke about the horror at finding so many family and friends had died and of his joy at finding a single sibling and close friend still alive after all the war and desolation. Though he admitted to becoming perhaps a touch overprotective, he had rarely left Dalistraza’s side since. 

(Senastrasz did not share his thoughts about the visit he’d received from the mortal form of Korialstrasz, and the jealousy that _he_ hadn’t been strong enough to resist the controlling magic himself. ‘Krasus’ had spoken to the humans, told them that this was a noble creature under dark magic and he was working to free all their kind.)

Caliona had a similar early experience to Talion, but she was given to a Broodmother to raise. She told tales of being raised on lies, of having evil cloud her every thought but being unable to recognize it.  She told them all of the shame she now felt at her actions, and how she felt when her clutch went into battle together for the first time against a vastly more experienced company of Greens, how rage griped her heart as the saw her siblings fall from the sky. How she survived a glancing blow by falling to the earth below, injured but ready to fight; and how surprised she was when the Greens left her for dead. 

Caliona told them of  returning in shame to the base,  lethal  acid eating at her wounds. With fondness she remembered a drake named Tendrion that had taken a Green Dragon they had captured to her cave and offered  the Green  her freedom for treating a  Twilight drake. That dragon  _ had _ gone free, something that had perplexed her endlessly. 

When she had threatened to expose Tendrion to their leadership for that, he admitted to her that he had also given the dragon a number of stolen eggs. He hadn’t lied, he  _ never _ lied to  any of them , but out of necessity he used inflections to let her read meaning into words that wasn’t there.  At the time she assumed the eggs had been infected with some  virulent  curse that wasn’t there and deceived herself.  Caliona  easily forgave him for that now. 

Vespiona took over the tale as Caliona stopped speaking. She and Ralion had similar beginnings to the others of their kind, but when they were ready to be s ent out to push the  front lines, lines that were now in the Twilight Highlands, Tendrion had intervened. He came to the camp commander, a cruel  B lack dragon, and told them he needed at least a few drakes for a special project; he was forming a strike force to spread death and fire  where their enemies felt safe . 

Talion  and Caliona were with him already, and after a careful inspection and speaking to the c ommander , he picked out herself and Ralion to join him.  She could tell he wanted to bring more, but in hindsight he was limited by not wanting to attract attention and the difficulty of convincing brainwashed individuals to follow him. Together, the five of them went on a grand adventure, roaming high and low. She told them of their days flying free,  h unting and eating animals not tainted by the magic of their home,  and  that l earning to work together in a group wa s the high point of her life. 

When Vespiona became choked with emotion from the memories of the first good parts of her life, and a  be loved leader  and mate no longer with  her , Ralion spoke up. He’d been doing a lot of thinking since they’d been in the Dream. He told them of the stories they shared at night, full bellies under the stars. How Tendrion told s tories to carefully test their reactions and once he had an idea how they though t , he started to change it. He found that their willing rebellion at that time impossible, so he did everything he could to chip away at their loyalty  to the Old Gods . 

Tendrion taught Ralion everything he thought a leader should know, because Tendrion thought he would be a good one some day. He shared hints of their adventures, how Tendrion had whipped together a plan that let them bring a lone clutching dragon to the ground with barely a scale out of place. He shared that after talking to the Red alone, he told the others that she had lost faith in her gods and  had agreed to follow them and serve as their group’s Broodmother,  so long as they protected her clutch . 

Ralion admitted to seeing the great trepidation on her face as Valistraza introduced herself and began sharing meals with them. She was so pregnant that she couldn’t hunt easily anymore, and had been losing weight before they found her. She was hoping to reach Outland, though that wasn’t a terribly safe place to be, it was the best she could think of for her clutch. She needed to find a place with enough food and where those that saw her wouldn’t report back to her Dragonflight. When Tendrion explained his purpose was to find a new world to settle, all five of them had cheered. 

During some of the star-lit discussions she mentioned how a group of whelps had gone missing in an area where Tendrion knew there was no  Twilight activity, Flight or Cult. (Tendrion had gotten the latest reports from the camp commander, and in hindsight when he lost the documents near an Alliance patrol, it could be assumed what he had done with them.) On a hunch, they had found the remains of a mage portal that led somewhere east of the Swamp of Sorrows, and made their way there. 

Making their way over the swamp they were spotted by a Goblin (This brought up a discussion of two races that, when their names were spoken in  either Draconic  or Parseltounge produced the same word.  Perhaps their races shared a common ancestry somehow? This also brought up the fact that both worlds had humans, which was a rather interesting thought.) town that was new enough to not be on their maps.  News of this eventually began the pursuit by the group of drakes and their mortal hunting partners. Harry remarked that they seemed nice enough when he met them. 

Ralion told them how they’d found a mage’s tower built on a s mall island far off the coast, and between the six them ambushed and killed the Mage as he stumbled out of bed. Valistraza had been  _ merciless _ once she’d scented whelp’s blood on a  dissection table. Everything the mage had they’d taken, including the s eventy -eight whelps in his cages. (It should have been  _ ninety _ _ -two _ . No t one felt bad about burning him alive after that.) There were all five original Flights represented in his collection, Black, Blue, Bronze, Green and Red, but he had also collected Chromatic, Netherwing, Twilight, and  some dragons their group actually couldn’t identify. 

This derailed the discussions for s ome time, as they discussed various groups of dragons. Eventually Aurogos asked a rather odd question. “These whelps, are they flesh and blood?” Which led to discussion of the various elemental creatures that looked outwardly like dragons, the Stone and Storm dragons. Aurogos lamented that the popular name for the elemental creatures conflicted with the Storm Drag ons that lived on the large island where he had spent his apprentice years. 

After some discussion, it was decided that the  insane mage had somehow gotten his hands on the flesh kind of Storm Dra gon , and that they were intelligent, had  magic involving thunder and storm, and were generally decent folk (if a bit prideful) but had some outliers. Aurogos suggested that they simply bind all the whelps to Harry when they open the sphere, just to prevent them causing all sorts of problems. 

Ralion, getting back to his tale, told them how his group had released all the whelps, and when they began to fight, Tendrion had bellowed out that he had claimed them as part of his new  Dragonf light. Half again the size of most other drakes, Tendrion had lowered his voice and told them that there was so much war and suffering on their world, so many lives lost time and time again, that he was leaving it and taking as many as he could with him. 

Tendrion had told the whelps that as the leader of the group that rescued them, he was taking them with him, and they could hate him for it, but at least they would be _alive_ if he had anything to say about it. Only in hindsight did they realize that Tendrion was pouring his heart out to the young dragons. At the time they assumed he was just saying what he needed to so they’d follow. He then introduced Valistraza and told the young ones that they would answer to her as their new Broodmother and that she answered to _him._

Sadly, feeding that many voracious little mouths was no small matter, so the group had decided to seal the lot of them inside a stasis-prison sphere the mage had apparently been using. After looking at his notes, it had a complete stasis  option added to it, so Tendrion had decided to place the whelps inside for safe keeping. Valistraza joined them, as she said she was only a month now from laying her eggs, and they would be faster without her.

Directly after that,  T endrion had gone to the greatest  (And most greatly disorganized.)  library on Azeroth, though it was also the most dangerous. Tendrion had left them on the edge of the swamp of sorrows and ventured in alone. He came out shaken, but with several books in his pack, and a sense of urgency that he hadn’t had before. When asked he’d told them Karazhan was the kind of  place that liked to drive people mad, and the tower had a will of its own. 

Tendrion only made it out alive because  a spirit wearing a hood had approved of him and spoke with him often in the months he’d spent searching the library. (That part was hard for the others to believe because  from their perspective he’d been gone two days.) Tendrion also said the walls between dimensions and even time were weak there, but he wouldn’t use that place for their portal off world because of the massive demonic taint there.

From Karazhan, they had slipped into Duskwood, hoping to make use of the ley-lines that flowed into the permanent Emerald Dream portal there. Sadly, the local guards attacked them and they had to flee. Ralion said he was so desperate to save his sister who’d taken an arrow to her lungs and was quickly losing the battle for life that he  had  abducted a priestess, (Easily identified by the robes and the staff gleaming on her back.) te lling her to save his sister and she’d be released and paid. 

The frightened y oung woman  did  save Ralion’s sister , though she exhausted herself healing V espiona and removing the arrows R alion picked up abducting her. When at first she’d balked at that, Tendrion had simply told her that he was her lift back. Despite the voices  in his head  that said to simply kill the human and consume her flesh (“I was really, really sick of eating roast spider at that point, okay?”) Ralion had dropped her off on a main road near a human settlement. Where she promptly ratted them out despite the gold coins they’d paid her for the healing. 

Aurogos and  his group had picked up the rumors directly from  the priestess where she sat in the town’s jail for fraternizing with the enemy. (Senastrasz piped up there, saying they arranged to have her sent to Stormwind  for judgment  with a note explaining, and requesting leniency.  In truth, healing an enemy that was acting out of established norms under duress wasn’t a great offense, but a spectacle had to be shown to discourage it from becoming common practice. ) 

Both groups had their first real combat with each other in southern Duskwood, before Tendrion executed the first of many escape  strategies. From there they’d often had battles that in retrospect felt more like spars as they pursued and escaped and laid false trails. 

Dalistraza, (“You can just call me Dali if you want, I don’t mind.”) began with mentioning her happy childhood, frolicking with other whelps including her brother through the fields of Vermilion Redoubt in what was once known as the Highlands. She talked a little about the Broodmother that raised her, and explained a good deal about what that position entailed. According to a Broodmother was responsible for the complete health and care of whelps from hatching to when she bathed them in a very special magical fire and the once-whelps emerge from the flame as drakes. 

Broodmothers spend a  century as apprentices and understudies, they learn practical care, how to treat common health problems, dealing with mineral deficiencies, how to ensure mental health. They learn to treat anything from a scraped scale to lung infections. Not only that, but they also serve as emotional support, career guidance,  givers of romantic advice,  and a shoulder to cry on. A good Broodmother provides a stable foundation for their charges to build on the rest of their life; a  very hefty responsibility.  Usually they raise not only their own children, but others who work for the Flight, n ot just by adoption but often providing daycare and child-rearing for others who  require it . 

Dalistraza explained that it wasn’t  unusual for the powerful maternal instincts  to extend beyond their kind, and they would often take in starving, abandoned and unwanted children of other races. Many of those, when offered the chance to rejoin their people after learning a trade and reaching maturity, instead chose to remain among the dragons, and (shockingly to the dreaming teens) often had children with the drakes they grew up with. 

Senastrasz and others were eager to cut in with stories of the great generals and smiths that the halfblooded dragons often served as.  Generally referred to as Dragonspawn, they usually walked on four legs with a humanoid body attached where a neck would be on a dragon. 

Chirping in, Stine offered a thought: “You know my mortal form? Like that but ‘dragonish’ instead of ‘tigerish.’  Oh, and even if they look slow, hulking and stiff they’re actually a lot more agile  and fast  than you’d expect. Unless they’ve gotten musclebound, or  fat . ” Dragonspawn differed from Drakonid  in that Drakonid were usually bipedal, and were once mortal servants of dragons or adopted members of their Flight.

“It gets more confusing though, because the traits that typically define them  can  m ix if they have children with each other or a mortal. There’s a reason we usually refer to both groups as Dragonkin, even though technically that term would include us here as well.” Senastrasz s poke as he took over from his sister . 

“Notice I haven’t used, and won’t, the term pure in reference to us or other dragons.  The truth is, between the mortals that have joined our flights, and the children they’ve had, there’s a little human,  elf, or  what have you in all of us save the Aspects or other truly ancient dragons at this point. 

“It hasn’t changed us much, and you wouldn’t see the differences unless you compared us as full adults against Nozdormu, or the females against Alexstrasza and Ysera. Younger generations tend to be more varied in build, more lithe or sturdy. It wouldn’t surprise me if Aurogos has Tauren or Taunka in his bloodline, though what the heck they’d be doing with the Blue Dragonflight I have no idea. Our, what is the word? Genitals also resemble what would be more typical on a mammal than a reptile in modern times.” 

At incredulous looks from the teens, Black and Twilight drakes, he shrugged and continued. “We don’t typically wear clothing in our real forms, as our scales u sually cover what needs to be covered.  B esides, it’s very  uncomfortable wearing clothes over scales. Dragonkin often wear a rmor , but whelps, drakes like us, and adult dragons rarely have anything on at all. I’ve seen my Flight’s Aspect a few times, even her mortal form  shows more skin than Hermione here is showing now.” 

Completely ignoring Hermione’s blush and stuttering,  Dali continued her tale  after a sour look at her brother for interrupting her. She told them about her decision to be a healer, and bits about her apprenticeship under a strict old Dragonspawn. Her old teacher was harsh, gruff, and had no bedside manner, but was one of the best healers around and Dali was honored to learn under her. 

When her master had come up to her after Dali had just finished a healing e ffort that was more reconstruction than healing (“One thing I learned, dumb m ales showing off for  female s cause so many injuries it’s insane. This  drake in particular lost control during some  aerial  stunt and immediately landed on a nice, soft wall of granite. And then a tree. And then a second tree. And then the ground, which was mostly rocks.”)  and simply told the drake that her apprenticeship was finished, there was nothing more she could teach;  t hat moment was one of the proudest of her life. 

When the Red Dragonflight was enslaved, she was lucky enough to be among the Bronze dragons, helping to mend some nasty wounds from a Devilsaur that had wound up in their Caverns, (It was stated, and agreed by all of them that weird things happened in the Caverns of Time. Add in a whelp’s prank going wrong, and things get weirder.) and she, and her large cohort of fellow healers sat out the entire enslavement of their Flight a s guests of the Bronze Dragonflight. 

Later, there was much debate among the Reds as to h ow d eliberate  the whole event that kept the least c ombat capable and arguably most useful group of dragons out of the hands of the orcs.  As a whole, the Bronze Flight was sworn to protect the timeline, but it wasn’t impossible for individuals to act to prevent suffering. 

When the group turned to Stine to ask him, he simply said he had no knowledge of this event, as he was born some five-thousand years ago, though he himself w as only thirty- two years old. When pressed further as to whether Bronze Dragons would alter events, to change time or only guard it, he had a rather surprising response. 

“I did, when I chose to join the hunting party with you four and the mortals. I had been seeing my own future enough to know I ended as part of the Infinite Dragonflight.  I seem to have lost my way in the next decade and joined, I would have died in the Infinite attack trying to prevent the opening of the Dark Portal. I… I didn’t like that ending, so I was desperately trying to find an alternative. 

“The Bronze Flight believe, above all our other dogmas, that there is only one true timeline. I find myself doubting whether or not that’s true, because when you asked me to join you A urogos, I was looking at my own path in time  and I saw a flicker of a different way forward, just for a second, and I chose to go with you after the path  whose end  I could not see. Now I know I couldn’t see it because Time is far less, porous, I guess is the best word on this world. To what end will we reach? I have no idea, but it might just be better than where we were headed back home. 

“And every choice, every path taken causes ripples, but we never completely know where those ripples end. Before anyone says anything, I don’t regret my choice. Life or death as myself is preferable to existence as an Infinite, even if it turns our I would have lived longer as one of them.” He looked directly at Harry, as if sensing the doubts within him attempting to push forth again. “I do not regret my choice, my Lord.”

That actually stopped the discussion for a time. Dali finished her tale, basically she’d traveled from place to place and healed many. Senastrasz, her full brother had informed the ir command structure that he was going where she did as a bodyguard, he had lost every other one of his siblings in the years of war, and he would not lose her as well. Given that healers tended not to be great combatants, there really was no trouble with him keeping an eye on her and the others. 

Dali and her brother had  eventually been assigned to Hyjal, and kept many people alive together. While he wasn’t a trained healer, s ix years in Gi lneas healing every injury he could had given him a good deal of practical experience.  Senastrasz doubled guarding the healers with healing those he  was able to, leaving the more complex  injuries to those better trained, taking a bit of the stress off them after every battle. 

When a group formed comprised of mortals and Aurogos to hunt down the remaining pockets of the Twilight Cult and Flight, they both joined up along with Alira, who had been doing badly as a warrior. A bit of a mis-matched group, and with significant friction between the Reds and the Blue, they slowly pulled together and got rather good at their job, adding more mortals as they went. 

Dali c ouldn’t look at the Twilight drakes when she spo ke of seeing awful things  as they did their business. When they were done, and Hyjal was as clear as it could reasonably be, they decided as a group to head over to the Eastern Kingdoms and poke around a bit. 

Sure, they probably should have reported back to their commanders right away, but honestly they were all enjoying a little bit of freedom and had all seen enough suffering and war for a lifetime, so they decided to sweep the southern parts of the Eastern Kingdoms. It had proved more a vacation than anything else. The mortals were being paid by the week, so they ended up checking for evil in all sorts of places, like beaches and forest g lades . 

They did,  however, check for any rumors to follow up but found nothing until visiting an inn at the township of Lakeshire in the Redridge Mountains.  Stories of a Red Dragon flying with Twilight Drakes s ent them rushing to the Goblin Town of Bogpaddle in the Swamp of Sorrows, and from there everyone knew the story. She did say that their goal was to at least question the Twilight group because their actions were so strange and that they had guessed that the Red Dragon and whelps had been put into the stasis sphere they started carrying. 

More awkwardness abounded, and Aurogos  again  went over the process for discovering and using a Mortal Form with the younger drakes. They were pretty sure they’d be able to  manage their second forms nearly  as soon as they got out now. Stine checked the magic decay of the circle fairly often as their time drew closer to ending.

Eventually, Alira began to speak, talking about her aspirations to be a Broodmother for her Flight, and how they were dashed, or at least put on hold when she was sent out to fight. Hurting others, even if they were lost to the Old Gods, was anathema to her, and it often came close to getting her killed.  She had been assigned to a squadron of veteran Skyrazors, now a mixed group of Greens, Reds, Bronze and even a few Blue drakes. 

In a quiet voice she mentioned that was unusual because the Reds and Blues didn’t along very well since the war. Changing subjects with a sad glance at Aurogos, she told them stories about how bad she was at combat, and how when she tried to fight Tend rion, he simply laid her on her back, talon at her throat in only a few seconds. He’d actually spoke with her then, accusing her of not being any kind of warrior, and she had very quickly pointed out she was a Broodmother  apprentice , and had been conscripted. 

Alira told them about the sadness on his face at that, before it hardened and instead of removing her jugular, he spun around and just dazed her with his tail (but not the bone club at it’s tip) and commanded her to “Stay down.” And she had. She’d watched him gather his group and escape into the shadows, trying to figure out what kind of an enemy pitied her. 

The Green drake told the group during later engagements he’d  _ whispered _ to her, telling her she shouldn’t be fighting, that it was a cruel world that made one like her, that only wanted to nurture others, to make lives better end them. He’d told her that this world didn’t deserve her loyalty, and that she should seek another. She had been impressed with his skill, fighting others and still using a bit of magic to only be heard by her even as he matched Senastrasz and Stine together while Ralion took Aurogos briefly and the females drove off the mortal’s mounts and stole their supplies. 

She’d told them that if the Twilight Dragonflight ever had a champion, it was Tendrion. She told them that when she saw the portal, she was conflicted about leaving everything behind and following him, even before they learned about the tainted water,  but had resolved to do her duty first.

Aurogos did not want to share much about his life, so Harry went next. He told them about how his parents had died, how he could hear his mother pleading for his life when near a  Dementor . He told everyone present about how he had grown up with his aunt and uncle who bore him no love at all, and in fact a good deal of hate. Harry told them of the bullying from his cousin, and the punishments from his uncle. He told them of how often he was hungry, making food for his relatives and b eing fed only scraps.  With a bit of a hollow laugh, he told them about his accidental magic growing up, including the Boa Constrictor that for all he knew could be living in sunny Brazil right now. 

Harry had already mentioned some of his adventures at Hogwarts, but now he described how he felt during the events, how terrified he was of the Basilisk, how out of his depth with Quirrel, his rage at the escape of Pettigrew and his hate of the Ministry.  F irst for never giving his godfather a trial and now for trying to kill him over the summer  before putting him on trial for failing to die. 

And Harry told them something he’d never admitted to anyone before: He told them about the deep, crawling horror he felt when he came across something in a book on dangerous magical creatures and realized how very close he came to becoming an Obscurial. He explained that the phenomena occurred when a magical child consciously suppressed their magic and it instead turned inward, forming a very dangerous parasite that destroyed everything around it. 

As Hermione drew him into a hug and told him he wasn’t alone anymore that she wouldn’t let him be.  She  again fe lt his emotions,  and  he found himself relaxing into the comfort, feeling her emotions in turn. One by one, the dragons nudged forward and told him that they were with him as well. 

Hermione, still in physical contact smiled to herself at the steel that shone through Harry then. Harry would do right by his followers if it killed him, and his followers would be working hard to ensure that it did not. Over the last few months in this place she’d brushed against each of them and felt their earnestness. They weren’t perfectly happy about how they got here true, but now here they would make the best of it. Dark Lord or no Dark Lord.

Smiling, now in his human form, Aurogos finally broke down and shared his story as they waited for the spell to run out. There really wasn’t much else to do, everyone by now had built a formidable mental defense, they just needed actual sleep and some time in the real world to finalize the defenses. His own was built around the Nexus and Oc u lus,  he almost pitied anyone that crept into his mind, the later was a pain to navigate even for Blue Dragons at times. 

Aurogos had liked the way Harry had shaped his defenses as a massive  diversion , and he had taken the idea to heart. His memories were placed within the Eye of Eternity, but the only way in required a puzzle that wasn’t visibly a puzzle to be used at the core of the Nexus and throughout the Oculus in places where a pebble could be moved with no hints of where it needed to be. R eaching the memories in  a reasonable amount of time required teleportation, and he had blocked it to anyone but himself. 

For his story, Aurogos told them about how fractured the Blue Dragonflight was while Malygos brooded in his madness.  He hatched in the Cerulean Sanctum in Dragonblight and rarely left it, save for a few trips up into  Wyrmrest T emple proper, until he became a drake. Like most of his kind, he wanted to become a great and powerful user of magic and help his  Dragonf light recover their lost prestige and purpose. He explained that it was hard to earn an apprenticeship with the greatest among them, so he studied long nights as a whelp and young drake. 

What elders their flight had were scattered, and the best master on the continent he wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. “Saragosa always had a reputation, whispered among the drakes. She was  _ cruel _ whenever she could get away with it. Some of her apprentices went missing, one was found with a crushed neck washed up on a shore miles from the Coldarra. I should say the especially  _ talented _ ones went missing.”  When he  felt ready ,  even though it was a hard flight, and he found himself wishing he could portal his way there but  unable to before he had visited the location himself , he flew  until he had left the continent of Northrend behind . 

He stopped at different islands, some barren barren and desolate, on others he slept high in trees at night because they were decidedly _not._ Eventually he made his way to the Broken Isles (“I know its an odd name for an island, okay? But from the air it actually sort of looks like three or four different island have been combined together badly.”) and visited the Green Dragon enclave and the Night Elves there for a time. He would have stayed longer but the purple elves were rather unfriendly to magic users. 

After getting some directions from a Green Broodmother happy to have something new to entertain her clutch for a few days he made his way to a region called Azsuna.  T here after some searching he found the Azurewing settlement, and after introducing himself he made his case to the oldest Blue Dragon still sane. It took some convincing, and the ancient dragon had warned that the drake would need to put a lot of real work in, but in the end it was worth the effort. 

Compared to the Blues living at the Nexus, the Azurewing proved more focused, cooperative, and generally much happier than those in Northrend. When he asked Senegos about it, his master had replied that all creatures need a purpose, and usually leadership. At the Nexus, there was an absence of direction and leadership. When Aurogos mentioned Saragosa, and the rumors about her, Senegos had told him that if their Flight had real leadership, she would have found herself cast out long ago. 

Senegos had gone on to explain that he had once approached the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza at the Ruby Dragonshrine and told her of the plight of the Blue Dragonflight, how they were leaderless, and were losing their purpose in the wake of that great defeat during Neltharion’s betrayal. He told Alexstrasza their numbers were still so low due to the lethargy and despair that clung to their flight. He begged her to help them, and when she admitted she did not know how, he had, in his desperation, asked her to choose a new Aspect for their flight. 

This  had earned him her immediate ire. Malygos was her brother! He responded that for trying to preserve her brother, she could lose his Flight and all his children instead. When she accused Senegos of trying to usurp the position for himself, he had exploded at her instead. He had screamed at her that he didn’t care who the new Aspect would be, as long as she picked one with a level head and good heart. He just didn’t want to witness the slow death of his people anymore. 

Alexstrasza had sent him away empty handed that day, unwilling to tear the power of the Titans from her brother,  killing him in the process.  Feeling especially bitter, Senegos had shouted at her as her guards shoved him away that if she left their Flight to wallow in despair she would come to regret  it  eventually, that all that suffering wouldn’t be confined to the Blues forever! 

“He was right, of course. I came to respect Senegos as I learned from him. He didn’t just teach me magic, he tried to impart perspective as well. He introduced me to  many of the mortal races, tried to show me their accomplishments. When Senegos introduced me to the Highmountain  Tauren, he made a special point to introduce an individual that was going by the name Ebonhorn, who I’m certain was actually a dragon. I really don’t know why there was so much emphasis on that individual, but he proved rather friendly, as if he’d been  living among the Tauren so long he’d adopted their manner i s ms instead of his Flight’s.”

Moving on, he told them of how Senegos had introduced him to other groups,  friends he’d made over the years. Senegos had access to Uldum, as he had been assigned to check up on the area from time to time and brought Aurogos with him on an inspection. At a large Titan outpost he never learned the purpose of Senegos introduced him to  a group of Titan Watchers and requested the drake be added to the extremely small list of individuals granted access to the area. 

“One thing I’ve come to learn is that the Titan constructs, especially the older ones, tend to look down on creatures of flesh and dragons in particular. I have no idea why, but it’s always been true that assignments that deal with them  are not sought after. Earthen tend to be better about it, especially the ones made more recently. I think that the ‘Forge of Wills’ takes something from the person using it and includes that into the constructs it produces. 

“Titan constructs also hav e trouble grasping the idea of age. Senegos  had simply told them he was old, so his position would eventually be occupied by another. When the living stone creatures became belligerent, we just left.” 

Next the Blue drake  shared a few humorous tales of times when the two of them had slipped unknown onto the Wandering Isle,  his master’s  magic making them appear as Pandaren. “He told me that this was a good place to practice blending in with mortals, as the locals sometimes saw through illusions and deceptions, but typically were friendly enough that I’d get off with a warning and a stern look at worst if caught. I blended in pretty well, until this little urchin b egan pestering me and started throwing these little melon things that were too ripe to eat. He ran off and sounded an alarm when the fruit left me sopping wet but my illusion dry, and since it wasn’t _ my _ spell I couldn’t alter it. 

“I w as taken before their elder,  where Senegos was  enjoying a meal  with the old P andaren . I found out that a smell from something they were eating didn’t agree with me, and I ended up accidentally using my breath attack and freezing the whole table. That old Pandaren just picked up his tea slush, sipped it, and went back to eating the frozen meal like it was a new delicacy. Later, Senegos told me that he had put a tracking spell on this island years ago when it came near his home out of curiosity. The entire island was actually a turtle, mind you, and when he realized that his first thought was the people living on it were crazy, and his second thought involved which spells to place on the creature’s mind to prevent it from going under the water or, you know, r olling onto its back.” 

After a few more  funny stories of his life, his expression dropped.  Obviously pained, he spoke of  a visit to Quel'Thalas. He told them of the grand celebration for a  new class of understudies joining the Farstriders and Magisters t hat lasted a week, and how he suddenly realized his Flight lack ed thi s vibrancy,  th is zeal for life.  To his grudging surprise he found himself enjoying the  pageantry and atmosphere.  He even b ought a  number of the enchanted brooms he found at a small shop as souvenirs. 

Aurogos told them about  meeting a retired Magister,  Alain Sunchaser,  an old friend of Senegos. T here he met  a fellow apprentice  Daelin Salonar, a young elf working hard to live up to his family name.  He told them how he corresponded with D aelin for almost two decades; though there was a bit of a problem when the more numerous Red drakes that ran the courier system were enthralled, it was soon started up again thanks to Green drakes gifted with invisibility spells by his Flight. 

Aurogos spoke of how that apprentice and his master  promised to spread the word when they were told about the  truth of the  fate befalling the Reds, and they both understood why the other Flights feared entering the war themselves.  “If the H orde had captured the other Flights as well,  it would have been a massive disaster. Ysera and Nozdormu have enough power to do t errible things if they fell. And at the time, Malygos was sitting in his lair almost catatonic.  It ended up not being as awful as it could have been, my friend later wrote to tell me about a sort of zoo the elves and mages constructed that started with a few dozen whelps and a Broodmother. 

“ I’m sure it was humiliating having people throw in bits of meat and lots of little animated patchwork leather golems, but it was apparently very entertaining for the masses to see baby dragons lay waste to small armies of the things. Gold is crucial in wartime and their patrons kept the zoo fed. They ended up stocking it with more and more drakes and whelps as time went by, right up until the Dr ago n Soul was destroyed.

“One day  years later I got a letter with a package. It was an urgent plea for help, and all the children that had been in their village.  Tha t old Magister had used some impressive spellwork to contain them all within a small crystal and keep them in stasis.  I was still living with Senegos even after my formal apprenticeship ended,  performing various tasks to keep dangerous knowledge out of the wrong hands and keep the ley-lines flowing smoothly.

“ Senegos was under orders from our Flight and the Dragonqueen not to interfere in the affairs of mortals without direct permission from ou r leadership. He never even slowed down as he ordered the children sent to the three Broodmothers  of  his settlement, ordered all our warriors to report in and all the foodstuffs we could share with mortals packed, and as mu ch weapons and armor as possible taken with us. 

“Twenty minutes later he _tore_ a portal open to the gates of Silvermoon City, and we realized we were much too late. When we realized there wasn’t much fighting going on right then, I told my old master I was going to look for our friends. I took to the air, looking for the old Magister or his apprentice, and found Alain in the village square. He was alone, bound to a destroyed tree with the rest of the town’s inhabitants dead all around him. Alain was nearly dead, the foul magic laden on him to keep him suffering was the only reason he hadn’t died already; the magic was crafted so that when he gave into the torture, he would become a twisted undead servant of the Lich King, and all his friends with him. 

“ I looked at the enchantment that bound the old man there, hoping to find something to save the old man, but it was too clever and twisted. In the end, I simply talked to the old magister, told him the children were safe, even now being looked after by the Azurewing’s  B roodmother s. I couldn’t lie to the old man;  I  told him that his nation had fallen, but there were survivors. And  in the end all I could do was make his time as an undead abomination brief.

“ Alain Sunchaser choked out a request for the Blue Dragonflight to care for the children, to spare them the suffering of life among the survivors.  H e died with a smile on his lips when I told him w e  had plenty of b eds and  food at the Azurewing Repose. When the old elf, his apprentice that had become a friend, and the rest of the town rose to their feet and c harged at me ,  I just let go of my anger and burned  the undead abominations to ash . 

“I was going to head straight back, but while I was looking around for survivors, I f ound a band of very small risen dead hunting a band of dirty, desperate and exhausted survivors. When I heard the small undead that had been given speech taunting their parents and friends, I let them taste fire. 

“I’ll never forget walking past the burning undead children, towards the main hunting party with rage and tears, shedding my true form for the ease of shaping magic as a mortal. I screamed at the main host of undead as I gathered all my magic and burnt them away. In the end, I exhausted myself and lost consciousness, and it was only thanks to the survivors that wasn’t my last day alive. 

“ Once rested I opened a portal to Silvermoon city and brought them to the other survivors safe and sound.  Senegos was arguing with a n elf in ornate red and gold armor. Before I  cut in to defuse the argument  I  realized this was Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider, the new ruler of a broken people. When Senegos, look ing so very old in his High Elf form left through a portal with a promise to send as many supplies as possible through to the survivors, whether the Prince wanted them or not, I stayed for a moment.  There wasn’t much to say, really, but I tried anyway.

“When I returned,  I told  Senegos  of Alain’s last words. We went to where the children had been tended to by the Broodmothers, and  he told them the truth of what happened. He told them that the oldest of his mortal friends had asked that they be cared for, and he would honor that last request. The children  _ thrived _ under the care of the Blue Dragonflight,  though they never forgot their people. When the  adolescents  learned what the  so-called  Blood Elves were doing to feed their addictions to power, and the effects it caused, they  decided to  r emain among the dragons . Taught by the oldest practitioners of magic, they learned to control their hunger and beat their addiction  to the Sunwell’s magic with will and support. 

“Luckily, there was always something that needed doing, and they quickly found themselves apprenticed when they reached the age to choose their paths.  Senegos even convinced some of the local Night Elves to teach them the ways of the forest.  Th ose kids would have had a bright future among the dragons, if not for the Nexus War.” 

Aurogos went quiet for a long time after that. Senastrasz was about to give the group a general outline of that debacle, but the Blue drake spoke up first. “Malygos the Spell weaver served as the Aspect of the Blue Dragonflight from the uplifting of the dragons by the Titans until the end of the Nexus war. I’m not as familiar with the story as the old dragons that were alive then, but ten-thousand years ago Malygos stood with Deathwing, the Betrayer, then known as Neltharion, and argued for the creation of a weapon they named the Dragon Soul. The same item later became known as the Demon Soul, and it was used to bind the Red Dragonflight to the will of the  Dragonmaw Clan of Orcs. 

“Each Aspect placed into the small disc a piece of their power, of their very essence. I suspect Malygos, who at the time considered Neltharion his most trusted brother put more of himself in than any other. In any case, Neltharion betrayed the other Flights and after that battle, seven out of ten Blue Dragons lay dead. Senegos himself bears horrific scars from that day, though he usually keeps the m concealed by magic. 

“ Malygos went into seclusion after that, the loss of  so many and his guilt combined with the damage inflicted by the Dragon Soul drove him mad. He remained in that broken state of melancholy and despair for ten-thousand years, and he was slowly dragging the rest of us down with him. Later,  Tyrygosa brought a number of Netherwing Dragons into the Nexus,  the Blue Dragonflight’s home. She wanted them to gain enough power for themselves to break magic that was binding them. Sadly, the Nether Dragons had been used s o many times that they no longer trusted and tried to steal all the power of the Nexus for themselves. 

“During this, Malygos awoke in his lair and found the Nexus in Chaos. When he heard some of the arrogant claims of dragons drunk on power, in his madness he consumed the Nether Dragons and their power. From that point he began to regain his vitality and seemingly came out of his madness. For the first time I can remember, my Flight began real celebrations, it felt like we had a _purpose_ again, like we could regain our pride!”

Aurogos laughed brokenly for several long moments. “I went to the Nexus then, along with the High Elves that had sworn to serve the Blue Dragonflight. We presented ourselves before the Aspect as his loyal servants just before Malygos declared war on  all other users of arcane magic, the Kirin tor in particular. 

“It is a difficult thing to ignore the orders of your Aspect. There is a power, a magic, that runs through the  Dragonf lights and binds them together;  it is part of our very core. This is why the Black Dragonflight followed Deathwing and why the Reds served the Horde; it is  _ d _ _ ifficult _ to say no. 

“Senegos did ignore the call,  he took steps to forcibly keep his brood out of the war, but I was too weak, and too close. I considered the young elves my friends, they were at least assigned to the Nexus itself, under Telestra, the Dalaran turncoat. I… ended up joining a  group of Azure Skyrazors and learning to fight in the skies. I was good at it, as long as I could keep enemies away from me. I _ hated _ the armor we were issued. Supposedly it was for protection, but some of the runes also increased our aggression to the point where strategic thinking and complex spellcasting became difficult.  I was not able to remove it myself, and the wyrm in command disliked my attempt.

“When it became apparent we lacked the numbers to fight off the Reds, Kirin Tor, and the rest of the world at once, Malygos ordered the few eggs we did have imbued with magic to make them hatch faster, and as drakes instead of whelps.” 

Aurogos  shuddered. “You don’t want to know what the long-term effects of forcible aging like that are. Between us here and the Broodmother in stasis, we can help our Twilight dragons through most of the problems caused, but Malygos pushed so far beyond what was done to them. If any had survived they’d have gone mad with pain within a few decades, if not worse.  Saragosa was given free reign on our enemies, and s he no longer hid her cruel  nature . All the worst elements of our kind seemed to come out, fanned by Malygos himself. 

“When Saragosa was killed by a former torture victim, Malygos took the Red Dragon and bound her within the Nexus, carved runes into her f lesh , and flooded her with so much power it turned her scales Blue as  it tore at her mind. 

“In the back of my mind, I knew we were becoming twisted versions of what we once were, but it didn’t fully come into focus until during a battle between packs of opposing Skyrazors  when I followed an injured Red to the ground. He was a healer, not a fighter, I could see him healing himself. It’s hard to fight through the pain and heal major injuries, but he was doing well. I wanted to spare him, if he gave his world to withdraw from the war, but I couldn’t. Though I fought myself, I attacked and killed him easily, the dull roar of rage shouting down my conscience.”

Ignoring the horrified looks all around, Aurogos started to laugh, though it was not a joyous sound. “And, it was all for nothing you know. We were outnumbered si x to one by the Reds despite their losses in the Second War, throw in the Kirin Tor and those mortal adventurers fresh from Outland and the Sunwell Plat eau? We were doomed from the start.  Malygos got us killed in droves, caused suffering across the world, and ended any chance of us coming back to strength. 

“I survived the final push of the Nexus War by being sent against Wyrmrest Temple, but I abandoned my mission when I could. When Malygos died so too did the unity of our Flight. I returned to the C oldarra to find it in disarray, the Red Aspect there in person, ordering her Flight to begin pulling out. Corpses had been left everywhere,  and inside the Nexus, I f ound a paladin in  bloodied armor and a chipped warhammer that bore a large piece of purple crystal as the striking surface. He slid into a fighting stance when he saw me but relaxed when I told him the war was over, and I was just looking for my friends. 

“It turned out he was a friend of the dragon Keristraza, who se corpse still rested in the middle of the room. I offered to help him lay her to rest, since no one else had done it, and together with a fair bit of magic we moved her corpse outside under the stars and burned her on a small pyre. He said he’d been part of the group that went after her, and he was hoping despite what the other Reds said that he could save her. In the end, she couldn’t fight what was being done to her as  she begged for death, and there was nothing else he could do. 

“I told him about the orphans from Quel'Thalas, and how they’d grown up alongside our kind, how they were so proud to join our ranks. When the pyre had burnt out he took a small vial of the ashes with him, looked at me and said he was sorry. Then he summoned his charger and rode off towards the Reds that were maintaining a n evacuation service till everyone was off the island.  He never did give his name. 

“ When I search ed , I found m ost of them, dead in the halls. One was half-eaten by her own hound. I just quietly  gathered them up and burned them right in the halls of the Nexus where they had been so proud to be stationed the last I’d seen them. I’m sure I angered more than a few of the surviving wyrms with my actions and the materials I used, but I  still  d o n’t care. 

“I left and never returned there. I left and just flew until my wings throbbed, then I used magic to reinforce myself and just kept flying. Days later, the pain from what I’d been doing to myself now a blaze of agony, to my own surprise I found myself at the Azurewing Repose. Senegos came out, I must have tripped a ward, and he just looked at me. I couldn’t meet his eyes anymore. But, when I couldn’t walk or stand anymore he just picked me up and carried me into his home. There were Greens everywhere, and I saw the others there were asleep and being cared for by the new guests. I finally gave into exhaustion as he carried me through the halls of his home.

“Senegos never said anything about the pointless war I’d fought or what I’d done to myself. When I woke up I found him examining a piece of my armor, and I was so glad to have it off I burned it as soon as I could take my mortal form. I choked out that the elves I’d left with were dead, though I couldn’t find all the bodies. He just told me to rest, and I did. 

“A s soon as I was healthy enough to move again I prepared to leave, and I heard a cocky  Blue  drake complaining about being kept out of the war. He probably didn’t deserve all the things I screamed at him, I went on for a long time  and there was a crowd watching when I was done. Senegos had heard and saw me leaving. With a sad look in his eyes he told me to take care of myself and that I’d  always have a home here. I left and spent the next  year doing the tasks my Flight was charged with around Kalimdor. I visited Theramore briefly, earned a bit of gold doing some odd jobs and left quickly. After the Cataclysm I headed to Mount Hyjal when  I saw the fires.”

No one was quite sure what to say at that. Aurogos had always seemed so strong to everyone that had known him; the group hunting with him never brought up the Nexus War, know ing it would likely be a touchy subject. After a moment, Harry stood and walked over to him  and put a hand on his shoulder. They had all been sitting in a circle of comfortable chairs provided by Alira, so Aurogos had to look up, but not by much. Not trusting himself to say much, Harry kept his thoughts brief. “I want, I  _ need _ you, all of you to help me. If nothing else I will be a better leader than you’ve had before if it kills me.”

So close, the Blue drake wearing a human skin could feel the sincerity, the determination to do right by all of them. With a small smile, he replied the only way he could in the circumstances. “As you wish, my Lord.”

From there, the atmosphere gradually lightened as more discussions took place. It was decided that some of the drakes would enroll in the school, assuming they could work out a deal that would let them advance in the classes as soon as they could perform the practical portions. After listening to Hermione describe some of the magical theory, Aurogos described it as ‘mostly wrong.’  She was indignant about that, but he replied his kind had been studying magic for tw enty -thousand years now, and asked how long her species had been doing the same  _ and keeping notes.  _

A lot of the history they’d discussed had holes filled in, and Ralion mentioned that their group had a copy of the Red Dragonflight’s archive, which contained many recordings of historical events,  taken from the memories of those that witnessed them . It was a surprise all around that Tendrion had simply walked into the Red’s archives at one point,  claiming to be an undercover Blue and requested a copy of it all, and then gotten away free and clear. After much discussion it seemed their  wards only reacted to  corrupted drakes, and  Tendrion had  simply walked in. Apparently he returned several eggs to them as proof he wasn’t evil .  Even Senastrasz and Dalistraza agreed that it was very clever, and apparently accomplished with no injury  to anyone .

As they waited for time to run out, the only  other  thing of note that occurred was a discussion of the Twilight’s ability to phase out of reality. Ralion had heard only rumors, but it seemed their ability was linked to something called the ‘Twilight Realm’ that could be accessed by mature Twilight dragons. The drakes seen sinking into this realm were using some instinct and quickly exhausting themselves trying to hold between the two realms. 

When asked if anyone ever taught the Twilight to use it, Alira had scoffed at the response. “Well then of course you’re not doing it right! It takes  enormous amounts of practice for Greens to sink into the Emerald Dream like you’re describing. I can even open a small portal  with some effort. But the problem you’re describing with exhaustion sounds more like an issue with not having enough control, and using much more power than is needed. If the three of you want to work with me, I think we can improve your control  drastically.” Needless to say, she had three volunteers quickly.

Eventually, the time compression ward fell. It had worked as intended and their minds had learned for seventy-three days. Rather quickly they replaced everything into the trunk  as they got ready to head back. Stine slipped into the trunk and rejoined the waking world, thrown like unloved luggage. Taking a moment to concentrate, Alira looked over her  companions (After that time together, she counted both the Twilight group, Hermione, and her Lord  as close friends .)  as she prepared the magic to w ake them  all waking. But, when she looked at Harry, there was something hanging near him. Something bound to him  so close it must have been pulled into the Dream when she pulled her Lord in , but not so tightly that it  had joined them in the compression bubble. Something evil.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Author’s Note: I appreciate every review! I love hearing that people enjoy this fic. My goal for this fic is that you don’t need experience with the Warcraft lore to follow it, so let me know how I’m doing. Please also let me know if a character list in the notes would be useful for keeping the drakes straight. (I still need my notes to keep physical traits straight at times, especially the mortal forms.)

I’m going to try to keep new chapters around 10-12k words. I know readers like the big chapters, but it turns out editing something that big gets to be a bit difficult.

Next chapter begins to deal with what Alira saw at the end.

Recommended Stories:

On FanFiction . net,  Wizard Runemaster \- An altogether more badass Harry magicks himself to Azeroth in the early years of wow. A very fun story where the only thing that twigged me was the Black Dragonflight having the power of choice, being able to  simply  choose not to be evil.  (I’m all for changing cannon, but s ometimes it’s like playing jenga . ) J ust a minor gripe though, overall it’s a great read. I still have hope that enough positive attention on this story will convince the author to continue part two. 


	6. Chapter 6: In the Chamber of the Serpent

E dited 1-15-2021 for ease of reading and to fix a few things I missed. No plot elements have been altered.

I  own neither Harry Potter or Warcraft. 

C hapter 6:  In the Chamber of the Serpent  _ or _ Hangovers so Magical they Don’t Require Alcohol

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Minerva McGonagall, in the last few hours, had admittedly dozed off.  If there was one thing she knew how to transfigure after all, it was a comfortable chair.  After a time, a sound jolted her out of sleep, looking around, she saw a trunk sitting on the floor of the cavern. When she canceled the shrinking charm and opened it,  t he Bronze dragon  leaped out and stretch ed in his more feline form. “Ah, good to use this form again; I was stuck as a dragon maintaining the  runic circle for the last few months.”

“Given that you’re now speaking English, I assume everything went well?” Minerva was certainly surprised at this, she did not expect what had been described to her to actually work.

A reply was cut off by a loud groaning coming from the bed. It seemed that all ten individuals were now waking in some significant amount of pain. Alarmed, Professor McGonagall rushed over, wand in hand. She was stopped from casting spells by a green head slipping out from under a blue wing.

“Wait! No spells! There’s nothing wrong, just too much information our brains haven’t processed yet. We need real sleep, and only real sleep.” Amusingly, it seemed the various dragons were taking her advice already and attempting to roll over and continue sleeping, hampered by various sticking charms. After a few moments, someone handed Harry his wand and he removed them.  She noticed her students attempting to go back to sleep and intervened.

Remembering their plan, she levitated two teens  off of the bed who looked thoroughly unhappy at her through squinted eyes. “If you can get us out of here, Mr. Potter, and lend me your cloak, I will allow you and Ms. Granger to sleep in the trunk on the way up to the tower. But first you must both re-clothe yourselves. Grumbling slightly, both teens simply slipped their now very ruffled clothing  over their transfigured swim suits and climbed down into the trunk. Taking the offered cloak, the Professor reached for her broom, looking back at the eight dragons sleeping  in what could only be described as a pile. 

From what she’d been told the last few days she had expected a lot more friction between the two groups, but with apparently some time and Harry Potter they had grown comfortable with each other. She looked over and saw the cat-themed centaur smiling at the pile of scales, as it shifted slowly as various individuals got more comfortable.

“This reminds me of when I was a whelp, or a child to use a word you’d be more familiar with. We used to sleep in big groups like this after we wore ourselves out playing under the desert sun. Everything went well  in the Dream . For their minds, seventy-three days have passed since they went to sleep, and now they just need real rest. As soon as you’re up I’m going to join them. Some of us would like to apply to your school, but we can deal with that after some rest. Would you like me to walk you out Professor?” 

With that the old witch mounted her broom as the drake lifted the  trunk on his shoulder and they walked out. When the first door closed behind them, Stine paused a moment. “I wonder…  _ Đ:  _ _ Open!”  _ When the door opened itself again, he smiled. “Well, it isn’t quite parseltongue, but still a reptilian magical language and close enough. That takes a bit of worry  away .” 

There wasn’t much other conversation, the two simply keeping their own thoughts.  When they reached the slide, Minerva expected to part ways, but to her surprise the drake simply dug his claws in and kept pace with her trusty but rather outdated broom. 

At the top,  Minerva checked the Marauder’s Map,  trying not to get lost in the memories  this scrap of paper  brought back . When she was sure the room was clear, she slipped the cloak of true invisibility around her shoulders and disappeared from view; the trunk now shrunken and in her pocket. Stine was kind enough to open the door for her before closing it and sliding down the pipe by retracting his claws. Though he didn’t have the same problem as the rest, a warm bed called to him a s well .

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Not long after, Minerva arrived in Gryffindor Tower, removing the cloak before waking the portrait. Deciding to leave an imprint of her magic around the common room, she spent several moments doing permanent conjurations of small object s , likely not to be noticed by the students much.  (She did add a few new chairs, and a small table near the fire.)  When she was nearly exhausted, she returned the trunk to normal size and convinced the two students to stumble up the stairs to their dormitories. 

At n early six in the morning,  Professor McGonagall made her way back to her private quarters and called for an elf, at the same time she began crafting a modified howler. “Mimsey, I want you to deliver this to the Great Hall tomorrow during breakfast please. Don’t worry, it isn’t nearly as loud as Molly would send, I’m just using it to make a few announcements. Could you also arrange a small breakfast meal sent to me around one in the afternoon today? Thank you very much.” Now feeling  more weary  than she had since the end of the Blood War, Minerva McGonagall turned into bed after a quick shower and slept the sleep of the e xhausted .

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The next morning in the Great Hall, rumors were starting to spread again: Harry Potter hadn’t been seen since dinner on Friday, and it was now Monday. To be honest, Ron Weasley had seen Harry in bed that morning, and figured whatever excitement he’d had over the last few days had really taken it out of him. Though he was disappointed he hadn’t been taken along when Hermione had, he remembered how his jealousy had flared last year and nearly cost him his closest friend. 

Ron had been helping his brothers cover for the two of them, and even had a good idea of where his friends had ended up, as between his brothers and himself the only places they couldn’t get into were the Room of Requirement and the Chamber of Secrets. Ron hoped his friend had enjoyed his time away, because looking at the head table, it s eemed like it wouldn’t be happening again soon. His thoughts were interrupted when a house-elf popped into the room, in front of the main table. He cringed when he saw that it was carrying a howler. As it started to smoke, the elf, visibly panicking, threw it into the air and  disappeared. Thankfully when it started to speak it was, while certainly loud, lacking in the painful amounts of volume he’d heard from them in the past.  Oddly, it spoke in the voice of his Head of House.

“I apologize for not being here in person today, but I experienced a rather exhausting night. I have decided to cancel all of my classes today, my students are instead to spend the time reading ahead in the next chapter of the book and practicing the wand work in the Great Hall. As for the reason of my absence today, I was dealing with a small problem caused by the magical fluctuations in Hogwarts Castle Friday night. First, fifteen points each to Mr. Potter and Miss Granger for creating such a stable expansion charm, complete with a hidden doorway, in a small mouse hole in the Gryffindor common room. However, I feel I should take ten points from each of them for being unlucky enough to be residing inside the expanded room revising when the ‘event’ occurred.

“For the benefit of other students listening to this, being inside a collapsing expansion charm is usually a fatal experience. When the surge of magical energy, which the Headmaster can explain in more detail, ran through the castle the two students in question were lucky enough to not die.  I nstead  the two were  trapped inside an  unstable  vast  expanded space and disoriented mightily. Headmaster, I removed the students from the space, carefully collapsed the expansion and sealed the original hole. You may wish to check the c astle’s wardstone for damage, however. In any case, I found the students and rescued them ar ound five this morning, and while generally healthy they were in no shape to attend classes. Thus, as their head of house, I am excusing them for all classes today, though b oth will return tomorrow.” 

A fter a bit of thought Ron decided that this was a load of bullocks. He just wished he knew how his friends had gotten McGonagall on board. Oh well, if she was excusing them for the day Ron knew they’d be tired.  _ I’ll just check on Harry at lunch and see if Lavender will do the same for Hermione. _ Hoping he’d get answers later on, he went about his day. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Around eleven  that morning , Stine rolled off the drake-pile. He’d been getting actual sleep while inside the Dream, so he felt fine now. Deciding to make the most of his time, he gathered all of the supplies they had together in a small, empty room off of the main hall. Activating a new light orb he started unpacking everything they had, save t he personal b ags and the stasis sphere. 

_ That _ would need to wait until they had enough meat handy to feed all the whelps,  and a clutching Broodmother too. As he laid things out, he opened another trunk they’d expanded before leaving the Room. After examining it, he decided that it would work well for Alchemy supplies and perhaps some books. They only had three of the trunks handy, but that would have to work for now. Cataloging all their materials would take time, but should end up being a good use of it. The Twilight group had mentioned that they had  been  collecting anything and everything that might have been of use  on a new world , but hadn’t organized it well. 

Four hours later as he was placing some  Adamantite  bars next to a stack of Khorium bars, Stine heard a general stirring from the pile. Pleased to no longer be the only one up, he watched those that had ended up on top of the pile roll off, orienting themselves a moment before searching out the latrines that had been installed before their time in the Emerald Dream.  When he rejoined the group, he noticed Aurogos reclining on his s ide  on the floor as the resident healer used magic to pull bits of glass and some metal shards out of his shoulder. 

Half an hour after that, the strange little creature called Dobby had provided a meal with  a somewhat foul-tasting tea laden with what turned out to be a surprisingly effective  Dragon-safe analgesic. 

“Bless you Dobby, wherever you are!” Dalistraza remarked as she drank deeply of the brew despite the taste. Alira had sadly been correct, the pain they felt last night and now could only really be cured by sleep. Thankfully it was much  reduced after some rest. 

After the meal and some time of companionship  they gathered in a circle in the main hall. Surprisingly, Ralion was the one to address them. “Okay, what needs doing first, and what can we wait on?”

Aurogos went first. “I more or less know the runes now to access the wardstone. Before I attempt to open it, I want to experiment with ‘Norse’ runes a little to get a better handle on them.”

Stine spoke up after. “I’m organizing our supplies, we have a rather large amount, but it’s varied and unorganized. It will take time, and someone who can make shelves.”

Still seeming to be taking command, Ralion turned his full attention to Stine. “Our Lord can handle that when he returns, probably with friends. Anyone that isn’t doing something else can help you. Dalistraza, can you put together everything you need for healing in one of the side rooms? Since we have the space might as well have that ready in case we need it. Take anyone you want. Is there anything else?”

Alira spoke up now. “Last night, as we were leaving the dream, there was something clinging to our Lord. Something evil has bound itself to him, closely enough that it even followed him into the Dream, but not so close that it was within the effect of Stine’s magic. My first guess is some kind of parasite that’s latched on and dug deep. It needs to come off, but I’m not sure how to remove it without killing him. If it followed his spirit into the Dream when I called for Harry, it p robably won’t be an easy fix .”

Ralion’s response was fast. “Dali, you need to give him a full physical as soon as you can. Find out as much as possible, especially if he knows about this parasite. If he does not, we might not want to tell him.”

Acknowledging the objections with motions of his claws, he continued. “I know, but we don’t want the parasite,  on the off chance it  is self aware, to know we’re trying to remove it. It might burrow deeper, or leave him a husk. Harry Potter has  already given us a lot of help , I’m not willing to risk losing him. We’ll tell him about it when we already have a solution ready to remove it, and I’ll take any  blame for this myself. Are we in agreement?” 

When he received eight affirmations, he broke the meeting up. Aurogos left to work on mastering the needed runes,  and various drakes got to work. When Dalistraza asked him for help setting up the medical area, Ralion simply asked what she needed  him to do  and they got to work. 

Between the two of them, they soon had the medicinal supplies  placed on various shelves in the room that was once some sort of storage room. A desk and  some examination beds might be useful as well, but would need to be transfigured in the short term, or built in the long term.  Dali paused for a moment, remembering some of the K aldorei’s structures  she’d seen in Hyjal .  _ Or maybe A _ _ lira _ _ could grow the furniture f _ _ or us _ _ . But I’m sure even if she can, she’d need some trees and sunlight. I’ll ask as soon as we have access to the forest above.  _

“ That’s all we can do for now. I have some tomes to look through in my personal b ags ,  they  might give me some idea s for treating our lord .”

“Alright, I’ll be over with Stine if you need me.” Dalistraza watched him go,  reflecting on what she knew of him . Since they started chasing this group through the Eastern Kingdoms a lot of things hadn’t added up.  She could believe that Tendrion had been p assed over and not gotten the full corrupting effect, but his whole group had been different. Less aggressive, and more thoughtful. 

The normal tricks to trap Twilight and Black dragons in ambushes did not work, and in fact the one time they thought they had the group, the hunters in turn had been caught in an ambush. In fact, they had charged into a clearing only for Tendrion to activate a runic trap. When they b roke free , the mortal’s mounts had been scattered and their supplies had been s tolen .  _ Again. _

It was actually a great way of buying themselves time, as  Dali’s group had needed to stop and f ly the mortals to where their mounts flew off to. (At the end of that adventure they were all grateful for the magic that mortal Stable  M asters  used to bind mounts to their owners. A useful bit of spell work, it would usually bring a mount to their master’s side, unless panicked, and gave one a direction to head if the mount was scared off.) 

Compared to other Twilight drakes she had fought, Ralion and the others had  also  been  much more  disciplined. Also, while they were capable of violence, they never seemed to partake in  _ cruelty _ .  _ That priestess in Duskwood would have been quietly killed and the body never found if it had been any other Twilight group. And we would probably have never found their trail. I wonder if it was  _ only _ Tendrion that made them behave differently. _

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Upstairs, Ron and his two brothers had brought up a large lunch for themselves and the two that still seemed to be sleeping. Lavender was kind enough to check on her roommate and report that the girl looked completely done-in, and was sleeping in her clothes, shoes and all. Also, that she was in need of a shower. Harry was revealed to be much the same, though he had successfully kicked off his shoes before climbing into the bed, but still had on his socks. He also smelled like a shower would be a good idea. 

Shrugging,  Ron left a covered sandwich out for Harry and sent one up for Hermione with Pavarati. Since he and the twins still had class that day, t hey l eft the common room together .  Divination wasn’t bad, but he guessed  Umbridge, that despicable woman,  would be in a right snit without Harry there. He was right.  At least she seemed happy when Seamus told her that Harry looked like death warmed over when he’d seen him sleeping that morning. (Which was true, and somewhat worrying but not overly, since Harry was in his room and not the  Infirmary. Umbridge continued to be worrying, however.)

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Harry found himself waking up in bed just after three in the afternoon. He immediately groped for his glasses, but couldn’t find them nearby.  Getting up, he was briefly tempted to write the last few days off as a dream but was confronted with both a fading headache and the lingering smells his clothing had accumulated down in the Chamber of Secrets as proof he hadn’t. Not to mention if he  could now  speak Darnassian. 

Quickly deciding on a shower as a priority even as he ate the slightly stale sandwich left out for him he grabbed some clean clothes and headed into the dorm’s bathroom even as he finished his  snack. Remembering something about the effects of burning magic, he decided that he must have been expending a fair amount in the Emerald Dream last night, perhaps just as an out of body experience? 

In any case, the hot water felt especially fantastic today, as it seemed to chase away much of the lingering  pain. Alira had warned them that they would experience mental strain, though it was more painful than he expected. When he was clean, Harry sat down in the shower under the warm water and sunk into his mental plane. There were some cracks in the earth, with a green tinted water seeping up.  ( Also,  the tower of  Orthanc  was angled less straight and more like a popular tourist destination in Italy.) 

Since the  fluid was the physical representation of his memories,  Harry decided to spend a little time reconstructing the place.  After all the effort spent in building it, repair was thankfully fairly quick and easy. He even added a figure to the top of the tower that would throw fireballs at intruders. After learning what he did about the mind arts, he simply didn’t feel safe walking around without a solid defense.

Half an hour later, he was walking out of his dorm, dressed and ready for what was left of the day. Sadly he was still unable to find his glasses. He found Hermione downstairs waiting for him. “ Still hurting? A long hot shower helped me a lot.”

“I did the same, but the strain still hurts a bit. It shouldn’t be a problem after tonight though. I’m a bit sore from sleeping in my clothes, you can bet I won’t be doing that again. Where are your glasses?”

“No idea, I was distracted getting into bed last night, can’t be sure I had them then.  I don’t know what I’ll do if they don’t turn up, I’ve had them for years now.”

Now having some idea about Harry’s home life, Hermione had a concern, “Harry, when was the last time you went to the Optometrist?”

She was vindicated when he asked her what the term meant. When he said he had just been given glasses by his uncle when he couldn’t see, and they weren’t new, Hermione was inwardly steaming. She had a sudden urge to send some curses to Harry’s Uncle just then. Taking him by the hand, she started leading him out  of the room  (A  necessity just then, as it turned out his eyes were really bad  at seeing things far from him.) intent on finding a Professor that was, as of yesterday, more helpful than she had ever been before. 

Hermione found herself wondering if any Harry’s problems with schoolwork were caused by, or exacerbated by his poor vision. Her father got his eyes checked every year, and seemed to replace his glasses every other other visit. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

In the Headmaster’s office Albus Dumbledore was hosting Professors Flitwick and Sprout, both had come to visit him together to express some concerns about this year’s Defense Professor. Sprout was speaking, and Albus found himself fighting to pay attention. His wand had slipped out of the holster usually hidden by his sleeve into his pocket as he was listening to the Heads of House. 

Albus felt frustrated more than anything as he listened to them drone on.  _ Why don’t they just accept that I have a plan and let it be? I have better things to do than listen to them.  _ His grip on the wand he’d won from his old friend and enemy Grindelwald tightened. He found himself thinking of how to word a compulsion to convince them to leave things as they were, not that he would actually use a spell like that on them.

Half an hour later, two Heads of House walked out of the Headmaster’s office with dazed expressions and blank eyes that returned to normal as they returned to their quarters.

Within the office they had vacated, Fawkes crooned a song of regret for his greatest failure, and the friend that he had watched slowly be consumed over the long years they had been together.  He had tried so many, many times to destroy that abomination that was still in his friend’s hand and failed every time. His attempts had sadly ended when Albus had surprised him with a stunning spell after one failure too many, and the phoenix had awoken to find himself bound with  dark magic. 

In his head,  Fawkes cursed whoever had crafted that abomination, he cursed Albus for his arrogance in ignoring the warning in the story of its creation, and he cursed himself most of all for his failure to protect a dear friend.  Albus did not even realize he’d acted just now, the haze in his mind smoothing over the edges of the encounter’s memory. As far as he would recall, he had simply soothed their fears and they ended up agreeing with him on their own.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Ron Weasley was very glad to get out of Defense that afternoon as ‘The Toad’ had indeed been even more of an aggravation than usual. He caught Hermione leading Harry through the hallways, as he’d been heading back to the common room to drop off his books and catch up with his friends t o find out where they’d really been during the weekend. Rushing to catch up he saw Hermione smile at him, but felt a bit down when Harry didn’t even acknowledge him. At least until she spoke up. 

“Hey Harry, Ron’s found us. Ron, Harry’s misplaced his glasses, and I just found out he’d never had ones fitted to him anyway. We’re heading to Professor McGonagall now, why don’t you come with us?” Ron let out a small laugh when Harry turned and waved to the wrong set of footfalls from another student going down to dinner.

“ Sure, you guys heading down to dinner after? By the way, look out for ‘The Toad,’ she’s not in a great mood today.”

The trio enjoyed a bit of camaraderie as they made their way through the halls towards their Head of House’s office. W ith some effort , they made it before Professor McGonagall  left to go to the main hall for dinner. Ron felt a little out of the loop when Harry, after asking if her office was private, and after a small flurry of spells suggested it was,  suggested a trip out of the castle for a replacement set of glasses, and that she could take care of any business she might have in the Alley. 

Ron began to get very nervous when Harry asked how their Professor’s Occlumency was progressing, and was told it was the art of protecting one’s mind a fter he asked. When Harry asked him if  knew anything about Occlumency , he could only reply no. Harry just gave him a reassuring smile and spoke. “Not a problem, I happen to have a great book on the subject a mutual friend sent me, and I’ll help you learn it.”

Feeling rather confused, Ron asked. “Mate, when did you learn this Occlumency s tuff ?”

“Last night Ron, but it was a really long night. If you’re willing to work on it, we should have you up to date by Halloween easy.”

Now feeling even more confused, but pleased to be part of something, he  just nodded his head. He followed his friends down to dinner, enjoying a rather nice meal. Ron was completely shocked when his best friend asked  for people with better vision to let Angelina know he wanted to speak with her. A few moments later, as Harry was determined to prove his cover story by way of appetite alone, she broke off from Alica and Katie and sat down next to him when Ron made room. 

As soon as  Angelina sat down and got the whole run down over where his glasses were (“I don’t actually know.  But  right now I fear for their safety, and harbor few hopes for their safe return.”) H arry got to the point. 

“Angelina, I’m sorry but I’m quitting the team. I have a lot going on this year, and I suspect our venerable Defense Professor will be making trouble for any group of which I’m a part. So, the team will be safer without me around.” When Angelina tried to argue with him, quickly followed by the rest of the house, Harry tried to be polite but firm. (He’d taken to heart some of the tips he’d gotten over the nearly two and a half months in the Dream last night. Discussion of nearly any type p roved useful for learning English, and they’d had twenty-four hours a day to fill at that.) 

When not only her, but the rest of the table began to try to argue with him at once, he slammed his hand on the table harshly enough to grasp people’s attention and continued. “Enough! One way or another, I have more important things to do this year. If _nothing else_ occupies my time, we’ve had two years of incompetent defense professors, I chose an elective that turned out to be _completely_ useless to me, and I’ve realized how little magic I actually know outside of what we learn in class. 

“Not to mention, I know almost  _ nothing _ about the Magical World, and much of what I do know is likely  _ wrong. _ So, if I don’t want the rest of my life to either suck or be very, very short I have a lot to study. Now please, let me eat in peace.” Attempting to go back to his meal, he almost swore and drew his wand when he heard a ‘hem, hem’  behind him. Thankfully, before that voice could add anything else, another interrupted.

“Mr. Potter, that will be detention with me tonight. I think we can find something for you to clean, perhaps on the second floor?” Harry was rather glad Professor McGonagall stepped in at that moment. “And where are your glasses?”

“I don’t know Professor. I wasn’t terribly coherent this morning when I went to sleep, and I didn’t have them with me when I woke this afternoon.  Do you mind if I eat before serving my detention? I seem to have missed a meal or two.”

“Go ahead Mr. Potter. I will be waiting for you at the Head Table. Come Dolores, the Elves of Hogwarts have been outdoing themselves the last few days with some new additions to the menu, and I for one am looking forward to the desert course.” Thankfully with that both Professor-shaped blurs moved back towards the Head Table.

From there, Harry busied himself with eating.  There was a new dish he came across, a nd he seemed to be the first one brave enough to try it. It was actually the liver and blood stew, and it turned out to be rather good, very savory with  lots of  onions and garlic. Eating as fast as was polite, and not a small amount of food either, Harry soon found himself finished, and walking towards the Head Table. When a blur stood for it’s chair and moved towards him, he paused to ask. “Is that you, Professor?”

“ Good heavens  Mr. Potter, you really are in need of a pair of glasses. Something to worry about later unless they turn up however. I believe we can find something that needs cleaning on the second floor, perhaps you can spend some time with Myrtle.” Nodding, Harry hastened to follow the Professor . 

Only once they were out of the Great hall and in a quie t place, Harry spoke again. “Professor,  I’d be happy to clean out Myrtle’s bathroom if you could ensure it is empty and seal the door to keep it that way. I don’t want to offend any of the students.” 

After a walk,  she entered the bathroom, ensured it was empty, and then sealed the doors after Harry was in. Walking to the faucets, Harry pulled out his map  and double checked, though he had to have the Professor do the actual checking. Once she confirmed it was clear, Harry opened the e ntrance , thought for a moment, then spoke.  _ Ƥ _ _ : “ _ _ Stairs!”  _ When that produced a desired result, Harry tried again.  _ “Lights!”  _ Smiling to himself, he started down the  stairs. Reaching the bottom with his Head of House next to him,  he took a sniff of the air. “It smells much better down here, they’ve been busy.”

Looking up, Minerva realized the reason. “There’s two of the small floating rune stones like the ones they carved last night floating near the ceiling. It’s much better lit down here now as well.  They are certainly skilled. Mr. Potter, Harry, I want you to be very careful in your dealings with them. Non-human creatures often do not think like we do, they often have very different aspirations than we do. There is a reason wizards and goblins have such a bloody history.”

“I’m aware of that Professor. Their goals right now are to survive and keep me alive, because I’m holding back the dark magic that would consume them. I’ve spent seventy-five days with them now, most of that with no sleep at all. I have a fair idea of what kind of people they are at this point. They’re all hurting, in one way or another, but they’re committed to  continuing on .”  Now, they paused outside the door to the inner chamber. 

“All nine of them gave me their loyalty, though some had to fight hard to do it. I don’t know if you heard the full story, but there should be ten here. One of them gave his service for a very, very long time to a goddess in exchange for his friends having a chance to live, and Elune chose  _ me _ out of anyone else on any world. I won’t let that sacrifice be for vain, and I won’t f ail them. There is a massive amount of trust being given to me, and I will  _ not _ violate it.  _ Ƥ _ _ :  _ _ Open!” _ Hopeful he had made a convincing case to his Professor, the door opened and they stepped in. 

On the other side of the door Stine was obviously leading Ralion, Caliona, Talion, and Vespiona through some exercises relating to their second forms. Harry still couldn’t see much, but did see a red blur and a green blur come up to him, speaking in tones that while not human, were easily identifiable as female. 

“My Lord, with your permission, Alira and I would like to give you a medical examination. If you have any health issues, between the two of us we can heal m ost things . I’m afraid when we woke up, I spent a bit of time removing glass shards and a piece of metal from Aurogos.  It seems he rolled onto your glasses and  wedged the pieces up under his scales, but he’s fine now. Your glasses on the other hand are useless.”

Giving a shrug, Harry just sighed. “Hermione told me that since they weren’t fitted for me, they probably weren’t that great anyway. And it isn’t like my uncle would spend money on me if he could help it.  I was thinking about heading into London for a new pair, or go wherever wizards go when they need glasses.” 

Minerva was suddenly struck by how little Harry knew of their world. Any further thoughts were  stolen away when Dalistraza, who Minerva was simply  referring to as the “red female” in her head, spoke up. 

“Do you want your eyes healed? Because there’s likely a few ways we can do that, depending on what’s actually causing problems. In the worst case, we could always take eyes from one of us and implant them in you, then just grow new eyes for the donor. Transplant  would be a last resort however, because it might not be possible to make them appear the same as your old ones. That could be hidden with magic, but then those that can sense magic will wonder what you’re hiding.”

Smiling, Harry gestured ahead of him. “If you’ll excuse me Professor, it seems I’m getting a medical exam. Dali, I’d prefer to keep my old eyes, one of the few things I know about my mother is that she had eyes like mine. Though, being able to see without glasses would be fantastic.”

As Harry and the two dragons  moved off, Aurogos walked out of a nearby room. (He had actually been observing  the humans  since they entered from the girl’s bathroom and listening to their conversation. The nine of them were stuck with Harry, but they were hesitant to trust o thers .) As he walked up to the older woman he slipped into his mortal form, again appearing as  a young man with blue hair. 

Greeting the Professor, he guided the both of them over to a wall in front of where the four dragons were attempting to learn the Mortal Form. “I would offer you a chair,  but  sadly we are a bit lacking in furniture. Instead I will offer you a bit of rubble and  ask you craft us chairs or a bench instead.” 

Happy to show off her craft, both were soon resting on a large and comfortable bench against the wall. Since it was a little cold down here, Aurogos conjured a small flame and set it on the stone floor in front of them. At her curious look, he explained. “It isn’t truly fire. It’s just a little trick that provides warmth and light, it’ll last until it uses up the magic I put into it unless I feed it more. Now, I’d like to discuss enrolling us, at least those who can fit in easily into your school.” 

Both drake and Professor looked over at the practicing group at the sounds of excitement. One of the drakes practicing had achieved their goal, and now resembled a light blue anthropomorphic goat, bearing thick horns that gently curled from her temples along her head, then turned slightly upward near the end. A pair of thin, dainty tentacles emerged from just below either ear and laid on her chest, just touching the top of her breasts. Her arms were long and ended in human hands with long fingers. 

From the end of her tailbone a slender tail emerged, long enough to touch the back of her upper knee. Her legs bore the normal human shape a bove  her upper knee. Below that, the leg continued briefly before it met  an  additional joint that bent the other way, becoming thicker before ending in cloven hooves so dark blue they were nearly black. Her eyes glowed a light purple.

“ Vespiona will not be part of the group enrolling. He h , she’s gonna have a lot of fun trying to get those l egs to work right. At least it’s still a generally appealing form, I’ve seen the  D raenei  females get hit on by  every race, including a very, very stupid orc. I almost felt sorry for what  that woman  did to him.”

“Is that a demon?!” Finally coming out of her shock, Minerva said the first thing that came to her mind.

“No. Also, remember that these forms are not the real us. The Mortal Form is similar to your people’s Animagus Transformation, just more… directed I suppose. No matter what form we take when we’re not dragons, we  _ are _ dragons. I’ll tell you a bit about Draenei to ease your mind. First, they’re an old species, one of the older ones running about the cosmos. 

“From what I know, about t hirteen -thousand years ago,  the Dark Titan, the Lord of the  D emonic Burning Legion came to their world with an offer of power and knowledge in exchange for their loyalty. At that time, they were ruled by a triumvirate made of the greatest among them: Kil'jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen,  known to his people as T he Prophet.  Kil’jaeden and Archimonde agreed to give their loyalty, but Velen was troubled and searched for the truth. He received a vision of his people transformed into demons, and led as many as he could to flee instead. 

“Sadly, his fellow leaders  _ would not listen _ . The refugees changed their  people’s  name from Eredar to Draenei which means “Exiled Ones” in their own tongue  as they fled from world to world, looking for a safe haven. They’re good people, they have a quiet dignity to them and are steadfast allies if one treats them well in return. They’re also the only  race of flesh and blood  creatures  that naturally lives as long as dragons do, as far as I know.”

Minerva thought for a moment. As far as she knew, her world had never been been tread by demons, save perhaps for the biblical ones. “How many different races have you seen? How many live on your world?”

“About twenty sentient species live on Azeroth; there’s some debate about the intelligence of certain races, and how we should count the various off-shoots of the elves. And if you find yourself thinking that sounds like endless war waiting to happen, you’re mostly right. It doesn’t help that our world’s been invaded by hostile entities four times now. 

“Honestly, if not for that fact and the newcomers screwing things up even more, it would n’t be  a bad place to live . There are some incredible places on our world Professor. I wish I could show you the Coldarra at sunset before the Nexus War, or what it was like flying through the Grizzly Hills at dawn. Twenty years ago before it’s fall Quel'Thalas _ truly _ earned the description of ‘ T he Golden Realm.’ 

“Dalaran, before the mages moved it was the gem of Hillsbrad, and some of the Night Elven settlements a re so alive you could feel the power of the Wild t hrumming within you the moment you stepped a foot in.”  He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of the many places he would likely not see again. “For all its faults, it is a beautiful world. I just hope this world will be safer for us.”

Deciding to change the subject, Minerva got to the matter at hand. “Do you wish to enroll in our school simply to be near Mr. Potter, or are you interested in learning what we have to teach as well?”

In answer, Aurogos focused a bit of arcane energy into his hand. As it crackled and threw off purple sparks he gave his answer. “Professor, where I came from we used an apprenticeship system. There was a lot of competition for the best masters, so I studied from when I hatched to try and get a good one. I spent the first ten years of my life learning the basics, along with many other things, two years in self study, and twenty years apprenticed to the oldest master of the arcane arts that was still sane our world possessed.  But even in the thirty years since, I’ve  _ never _ stopped learning. 

“Now, your world is very interesting to me because the ley-lines that run through it are extremely weak compared to back home. Can you guess why that makes me excited to study how your world’s magic developed?”

At first insulted, the Professor paused and thought a moment. “The only thing I can think of is an older journal I read a long time ago that discussed the benefits of control and power in spellcasting, and how one could be substituted for the other. The author firmly believed that a razor-honed control of one’s magic could surmount nearly any difference in power between two wizards in a duel. I admit to taking much of that to heart and expending much effort into learning to control my magic carefully.” 

As they watched, the still-nude Draenei was slowly attempting to stand, as steady as a newborn deer. At least  she knew how to use her tail to balance herself,  though it was proving itself less substantial than her normal one .

“You are correct Professor. The magic I’ve seen so far on this world is different  than what I’m familiar with, all so tightly woven and controlled. Applied magic on this world has taken the form of a scalpel compared to Azeroth’s sledgehammer. For myself, I am looking forward to learning spells here, then taking that tight control and applying it the magic I already know. 

“ I admit, much of our focus will be on supporting our Lord, especially as the staff of your school neglects that responsibility or actually works to heap stress onto him. I don’t know if you’re aware of our life cycle, but as drakes we’re similar to your teenagers. I was sent to war as well Professor, but unlike Harry Potter I wasn’t sent alone, I went with the full might of our  Dragonf light  beside me . It does not speak well of y our leadership that your staff expect a largely untrained student to face the full might of  your  Ministry alone.”

Now remembering her conversation with Sirius, Minerva felt the need to argue at least a little. “I don’t agree with much of what’s happened here, especially with how this year is shaping up. But in spite of all that’s happened, the only thing we can do is to trust Headmaster Dumbledore! There’s no other way forward!”

Aurogos, while he would freely admit (to close friends, anyway) being a bit damaged from things he had seen and done, was no fool. All nine of them could read and write English as well as they could speak it, and he had examined and re-examined the text Sirius had sent and the notes pointing out certain areas for study. 

Compulsions had been mentioned a number of times, so he had spent a good deal of time studying those sections. So, based on what he knew, Minerva McGonagall was either under the effects of magic  or had become so dependent on the Headmaster that she no longer desired to think for herself. He decided he  _ needed _ to borrow a mirror and talk to this man himself. 

In order t o change the subject he  returned to an earlier topic. “In any case, those of us who become students will be behind your students in some subjects, and likely ahead in others. For example, I would be considered a Master in three runic languages, Dali could likely teach many things to your healers even as they taught her, and Stine is a hell of a lot more deviously clever than you would think. I  wouldn’t mind being placed in the first year classes with the others, if you allow us to test out of them as fast as we master the practical components. 

“After hearing Hermione explain what’s taught here, a lot of your theory is wrong. Don’t give me that look, my people have been studying magic for t wenty -thousand years! And we’ve had writing that long too.  _ Of course _ we’d have accumulated a little more knowledge than your people.”

Minerva had to admit that was a logical point, mankind’s magical research records tended to be incomplete to put it mildly. “So, if you’re willing to let us advance as needed we should be able to be legitimately in Harry’s year or beyond fairly quickly. I’d also request the use of self-study, especially for potions. 

“I’ve heard about the lack of instruction in a dangerous art and I’m not going to burden most of them with a man that seemingly lives to spread misery. Even the Twilight group when they were lost in darkness were never _cruel._ Remember, none of us have been untouched by war and the misery that flocks to it, so it will be difficult to tolerate a man who spreads misery _because he can_.”

Both were momentarily distracted when another of the drakes in front of them seemed to almost grasp his second  shape for a moment, his form twisting briefly before it flowed back into a Black and orange dragon. “ I don’t think advancing you according to your skills should be a problem. There might be some  concerns , but if I  make it part of a binding agreement and surprise the staff they might gripe but wouldn’t be able to act. 

“You’ll need a trip to Diagon Alley, but there is a problem.  In England, and indeed much of the world, wand ownership is restricted to humans capable of casting spells. While your forms are impressive, I am not completely sure they could bypass all of the magic in place to prevent illegal purchases. In addition, wands and their owners are registered with the Ministry upon purchase, and it would cause problems with your lack of official documentation. Wands are essential to all the spell work we perform here.”

Aurogos thought for a moment. It didn’t speak well of then wizard’s government, but that fit with much of what was said in the Emerald Dream over the seventy-three days last night. “I wonder. Could the house-elf Dobby please show himself?” 

After a pause, the small guy popped in. “Hello my small friend, I find myself in need of something that I can’t get on my own. Would you be willing to help me?”

After  Dobby gave  a very enthusiastic nod, the Blue drake gave his request. “I need to learn how to craft wands Dobby. To do that, I need three or four wands to look at and take apart. Can you find me some that have been lost and forgotten or that won’t be missed?” 

With a huge smile, the little creature disappeared. “He’s an eager little guy. When I have a chance I want to look into the history of his kind, he bears a resemblance to several creatures from my world. I wonder if we’re actually the first Azerothians to step foot here.”

When the eager creature came back shortly with four wands of varying age, Aurogos picked up the one most obviously aged and examined it for a moment. His eyes began to glow blue, using one of the benefits of his flight to see enchantments. “Hmm, there’s almost no magic at all in the wand. Either it’s leeched out of the components, or the wand hasn’t been used in far too long. The wood has been shaped around the item, not bad craftsmanship. Hmm.” 

Temporarily forgetting his audience he became engrossed in examining the item. After a few more moments, he  accidentally made the older woman jump  when he snapped the wand, not noticing as he examined the interior. “Hmm, it has  a faded enchantment that would condense and shape  raw magic, that was expected. But combined with this other one…  Huh.” 

Turning to look at the Professor, he spoke to her instead of continuing thinking aloud. “This is a well made magical focus, very exact. I’d say it even adapts to its user over time if used enough. I can make similar objects with a little practice, assuming we have the needed c omponents with us. Excuse me a moment.” 

As the  Blue  drake in a human form walked towards  Stine, Talion finally got his form down, appearing as a male human in his mid twenties. He had black hair, and his pupils were circled with burnt orange. While he had managed pants on his first transformation, his bare chest and arms brimmed with a warrior’s muscles. This was the form of someone who had been fighting for a long time, and knew his way around physical weapons. 

This illusion of a deadly predator in the shape of a man was shattered for the moment when he promptly fell over backwards. (Thankfully, both humans had shared their knowledge of the Cushioning Charm in the Dream, and  a  lack of balan ce was expected initially.) Once being acknowledged by Stine, Aurogos asked a question that was suddenly pertinent to their group. 

“Stine, Ralion, I’m sorry to interrupt, but do we have a collection of shed teeth, claws and scales? Those of us attending the school will need wands crafted, and I think we can manage something with bits of us if we have Alira and Dali grow the wood around them while I add the enchantments. Even better if we have some arcane dust laying around.”

A few moments later Aurogos returned to the Professor who found herself watching the young man with the  rippling muscles learn to control his new body; the blue female was ignored as she took a few hesitant steps off to the side.  Aurogos raised a blue eyebrow and coughed lightly to get her attention. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think we have all the materials we need to craft wands that have similar form and function to the ones you use. Would you be so kind as to create some examples of outliers so I have some idea what to make ours look like? Our s will probably be a little larger, but I don’t want them to be  _ too _ out of the norm.” 

A  few moments later Aurogos began making notes and calculations as he examined the other wands and thought aloud, sometimes speaking with Minerva about the much more limited wands he had produced in the past. Time passed easily for them as Caliona and Ralion worked to achieve their forms, and Vespiona and Talion began to learn to move properly in their forms. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Extending the barest thread of her consciousness through the portal, Elune perceived the Headmaster in his office that night, slowly running his fingers across the Elder Wand. Instead of touching his mind she reached out to the noble creature drowning in its  own failure. Gently, she coaxed Fawkes into  showing her the entire history of Albus and that dark weapon. 

As the story played out, she could not ignore the parallel  to a nother cursed weapon that had  once  consumed a prince. A prince that presented with the horrific choice of his kingdom falling to the massive numbers of dead that would soon spill out of a city of people he had sworn to protect,  that that he loved , or soaking his hands in their blood had made the hard choice of killing some to protect many others.  Arthas had been shepherded down a dark path, and Elune regretted not seeing where it would end. 

Elune knew the origin of that blade the prince had carried when he exited that cave her sight could not pierce. Again she had failed; she should have had her priestess send an army of sentinels to Northrend to meet the Prince, she should have rallied the Kaldorei to war before it was upon their homes, she should have found a way to do _something_ to save those elves that had chosen to walk under the sun. But… she dared not move against the Great Plan of the Titans carelessly. Her ultimate goal hung heavy on her shoulders, even now: the abomination of the Shadowlands must be ended, for the sake of all souls upon her world. 

Her Herald wasn’t ready, his flesh and soul needed more time to heal, but perhaps action would soothe his soul more than anything else. For his flesh… Alexstrasza was the greatest healer their world had ever known, and while  she served the Titans, she was both kind and predictable. With but a moment’s hesitation, her High Priestess was given a waking dream, imploring her to call the Red Aspect to her temple. To the other priestesses at the temple, she requested them to prepare to care for her Herald. In her private realm, where  Tendrion slept, she hastened his transformation. 

It turned out this little phoenix was more than she first thought however, as he was aware of her actions, using that thin tendril of her mind to perceive what was touching him. So to Fawkes she sent hope, a belief that things would improve soon, and the knowledge that there was yet a  chance for his dear friend. With that, she withdrew from this place, lest her presence be detected by others. She had seen those sent here were alive and well. 

Now, she focused herself entirely upon the drake that slept within her realm. Elune knew she was acting rashly now, but chance had given her an opportunity. Tendrion was needed below, he could begin to rally those she could not. She risked much now, but Elune decided to put her faith into the mortal whos e mind she had touched  when she called him to open the portal and those that stood with him. 

Elune’s actions to come would distort the timeline the Bronze Dragonflight guarded so zealously, but the goddess knew that Nozdormu was also unprepared for the havoc a good man would pile against his ‘one true timeline.’ With two forces of change moving against Azeroth’s grim fate, the future just might be brighter. With just a little luck, the Bronze Dragonflight would focus on the visible, obvious enemy to their charge and leave her free to act. Even now, twenty thousand years after first hearing it, the Titan’s propaganda to Nozdormu still made her sneer. “There is only one true timeline.” As if free will meant _nothing_! Insufferable Titans, free will meant _everything!_

With luck  (and a dream or two if needed) this world’s Loyal Lord would ready himself and come to Azeroth. She did not deceive the avian, Dumbledore’s chance was coming. Azeroth would be the fire that tempered the t een , and the ripples from her pebble would reach far indeed. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The Elder Wand was truly a dangerous magical item. As was intended, it passed from one user to another over the centuries, leaving only death in it’s wake. Over t wo centur ies ago, the dark lord of the time took possession of it  and in his hubris sought to shape the wand into a horcrux. That attempt failed, and the greatly weakened man was slain soon after, but the wand  _ grew _ from that attempt. When the man died his mind, magic and soul was consumed by the wand, and the Deathstick’s hunger  _ grew _ . 

Before, it had consumed a piece of every person that  wielded or died by the Wand of Destiny, mindless in its task. Now,  it could take more, and it began to plan. Before, it was a hurricane, a wildfire; it destroyed all in its path without thought or choice. Now, it truly became an evil on its own merits. And it became  _ cruel _ . 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

“ _Whomsoever takes up this blade shall wield power eternal._

_ Just as the blade rends flesh so must power scar the spirit. _ ” 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

AN: I haven’t really decided on Tendrion’s new appearance yet. I’m torn between something reminiscent of the dawn, the night, or sunset.  Dawn or dusk/sunset will likely win out, for a number of reasons. Cannon doesn’t have a ton to say about Elune, so I’m casting her as an entity that truly cares about those walking Azeroth. Elune seems to be a ‘good’ deity: She is associated with healing, tranquility, harmony, and peace; but she is NOT a pacifist. 

She gives her strength to those that call on her, provides healing, even gives her her chosen priestess useful warnings at times. In return her preferred offerings are rice cakes, (I picture Elune’s physical form sitting in her abode with a table off to the side with t he offered cakes on it, and her stopping to snack whenever she feels like it.) with the occasional weapons and flesh of her enemies. (In the WoW Desolace quests, this amounted to killing demons, which are pretty much everyone’s enemies. If you ever think they’re your friend, they’re actually measuring your back for  _ just _ the  right dagger.) In cannon, if y ou need a higher power and you’re not evil yourself, pick Elune. 

This fic isn’t going to be pro-Titan, I think the lore agrees with me that they are such eternal, monumental creatures that it isn’t possible for them to think of those tiny little things walking around their gardens as _people_ , as creatures deserving of their respect and courtesy. Humans, elves, even their own creations of the Titan-Forged races are simply below their notice.

Maybe Eonar could be an exception, but I’m doubtful. Algalon’s purpose wasn’t to judge the world, evacuate as many lives as possible, then reformat everything, it was to judge and immediately flip the switch. For those not familiar with Warcraft lore, Azeroth had a system that alerted Algalon “ The Observer”  if there was a breach in the Titan’s defenses. He would then travel to Ulduar, scan the planet, and send out one of two reply codes. If the all-well wasn’t transmitted  quickly , a hidden installation would immediately ‘re-originate’  the planet, reformatting the world to a blueprint and in the process kill ing everything living on the world.  Algalon has done this before on other worlds. (“A million-million lives wasted!”  Is a  _ lot _ of people. ) 

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Titans consider the ‘little creatures’ to be useful at times, the problem is that they also consider us e xpendable .  Here’s a link with the actual audio from the  Algalon  encounter,  plus a little of the lore around it: https:// www.youtube. com/watch?v=r2MwblTnb-g

As for the Shadowlands? It seems to be in cannon, and will be in this fic, an artificial/engineered afterlife. It will be interesting to see who sees where I’m going with my plot first.

Reviews are appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7: Flames and Fragment

I own neither franchise! Adult scene, though not a long one, it’s marked with a warning if you’d rather skip it.

I’m not sure where exactly the idea that the neutralized Basilisk Venom in Harry’s blood was a good thing, but it isn’t in this fic. It isn’t terribly bad either, just an inactive substance in his body his liver can’t process and remove.

Chapter 7: Flames and Fragment

As  A urogos began discussions for  enrollment , Harry found himself in the makeshift  Infirmary sitting on an oak table. Apparently Dobby had been unable to go with his first choice for stocking their medical ward: emptying the school’s Hospital Wing. I nstead  the elf had been collecting items from unused and forgotten rooms. The new furniture was both solid and beautiful after being dusted and polished, and the little elf had been working almost non-stop to help ‘The Great Wizard Harry Potter’s Dragonies’ get everything they needed. 

One skill of a good house elf is to remain unnoticed when not needed, and  Dobby had actually been lurking unseen when he heard the dragons mention the parasite on the boy he wanted as his master. Suddenly, the dragons found furniture appearing along with anything else the elf thought might be useful. He even had spoken to one of the more specialized elves of the castle about how to work with wood magically. His efforts in constructing shelves were still crude, but at least now they were solid.  T he dragons had mentioned as they were sorting the items that they didn’t care about appearances yet; “ Function over form until we have no important tasks ahead of us.” 

In any case before they started the two drakes decided to explain a little about how they typically operated. Dali started. “My Lord, usually a healer, so long as we’ve completed their apprenticeship, commands a fairly large amount of authority in our culture. We require it so that we can keep our charges in line and alive. In an ideal case, the lead healer is only second to the local commander, and at need can even order them to undergo procedures or rest. 

“While it is impossible for us to enforce any orders regarding your health, I do hope you will listen to our advice. I assure you that all nine of us have only your best interests at heart, that we wish for you to grow into a healthy and strong m age , even if only for the sake of our own pride.”

Smiling, Harry replied. “I believe you. Aurogos told me that he could sense something about me from my magic, and after thinking about it a bit, I felt something of each of you. It was faint, but none of you are evil people. Some of you bear so much pain... I will do anything I can to keep you from being hurt again and to help you all heal. I don’t mind obeying a healer I already know I can trust completely.”

The smile  Dalistraza  gave Harry showed a lot of teeth, but it didn’t bother the young man at all. True this was a predator, but she was _ his _ predator. “Thank you Harry Potter, my Lord. Now, we would like to examine you for anything we can treat. As you know, I am considered a fully a ccredited healer since the end of my apprenticeship. Alira was in training under a broodmother before the  latest war came,  and that path requires a good deal of healing training as well. So, she’s going to be my understudy and assistant as she learns from me. 

“When Valistraza is let out  Alira will be requesting be learning from  her as well.  For now, if you would please disrobe and remain standing we will begin the examination.”

For Harry things  quickly  became very awkward, but he had heard that examinations were done like this in the muggle world. He was touched a lot during the next hour, but the most awkward part was when he was asked to do exercise until he was sweating profusely. It turns out, when Harry was told Green Dragonflight’s natural abilities involved poison, he greatly underestimated the implications. When Harry began to drip with sweat, he was stopped, and after Dalistraza listened to his breathing for a moment a very long tongue began to clean hi s chest. 

After gathering a good deal of sweat on her tongue, Alira closed her eyes and  was still for a moment. Then she snarled and began r etching before taking an offered bucket of water to swish the substances out of her mouth. 

“On the matter of if you have any unusual substances in your body a retching Green d ragon is usually not a good sign. Luckily,  there is a method to remove poisons and such by gathering the substance in a small area and then removing the blood there. When Alira is done I’ll have her handle the poison drain. In the meantime, while you are fairly healthy overall, you have some problems that seem to be due to prior  malnutrition and  childhood injuries . We can treat those easily by forcing your body to repair itself  b y  a bsorbing additional nutrition;  and in conjunction with getting rid of whatever Alira detected you should feel significantly healthier within a month. What can you tell me about this scar on your forehead?” 

Unknown to Harry as he explained what he knew of his famous scar, Dalistraza was cursing mentally as she felt out the stain. Yes, this had been a shallow curse scar once, but now whatever it was had sent roots into his brain. If this had been dealt with immediately after it was given to him, a small piece of skin and skull could have been removed and encouraged to heal quickly. Now, an attempt at physically removing the source would be lucky to leave Harry’s brain stem intact. 

Putting aside her frustration Dali tried to learn all she could about this mark, as it was  undoubtedly the source of the shadow Alira had seen.  _ Hmm, Ralion was right to advise silence. I’m not sure if it  _ _ is conscious on its own or not, but it is affecting Harry’s mind. And there is a presence… I’d bet my tail it has been trying to posses i _ _ f not  _ _ just  _ _ u _ _ nravel _ _ him for years now. _

“Harry, I’d like to try something t o improve your overall health . You remember the effects of our breath attacks?” She waited a moment for his response and then continued. 

“Good, now, please stand next to the stone wall for a moment. Alira, please fetch my brother, he can use the healing flames as well. When she returns with Senastrasz, we’re going to  bathe you in the life-fire .  When used like this,  the flames  a re a cure-all that promotes health.  You will feel the heat, but not any pain.” As an experienced healer, Dalistraza had learned that  misdirection  was  occasionally  a  necessity ,  n ot not one she enjoyed .  With any luck, the parasite would be destroyed by her efforts in the next few minutes.

A few moments later, Senastrasz a ppeared outside the room and listened to hi s sister’s brief whispered instructions b efore they both entered the room together. “ Full strength, hold nothing back brother, and keep going until you fall asleep.” 

When Harry was standing straight, albeit attempting to avoid exposing himself, both drakes let loose a great amount of their magical strength in cleansing flames. While buried beneath the fire, Harry had time to marvel at how some of his scars receded and how felt stronger. Also, very, very hungry. His curse scar was in agony, but since it was _the scar_ that was in pain and it was simply sharing the discomfort Harry figured it was a good thing. 

Both dragons had kept the flame up as long and intense as they could. Senastrasz left the room to lie down, having exhausted himself completely. Dali had kept enough of her strength to at least check him again, sadly finding the presence in his head disturbed but still entrenched. At least it had a negative response to the life-fire, that suggested that a  sufficiently powerful  Red dragon could expel it completely.  Sadly, she now had doubts that any dragon save the Red Aspect herself could completely remove the parasite  this way .  _ Time to take out  _ _ more of _ _ those reference scrolls. If I can’t remove it outright, I’ll weaken its hold and a _ _ ddress _ _ the damage. _

“I apologize my Lord, but that took more out of me than I expected. Alira, can you handle the removal of whatever toxins you detected?  A fter that give him Catseye  and Troll’s Blood  Elixir s. Then just make sure he eats until his stomach is full,  I want him to  only  eat the rations from Azeroth.” Once the Red drake excused herself, she left the room and went immediately to the large  mattress , curled up next to her brother and did not wake f or some time .

In the medical room, Alira was examining Harry. Much of the energy of the life-flames had absorbed into the young man’s flesh, and it was melding unusually well with the magic already present in his veins. After some thought, Alira guessed it had something to do with the way both drakes were bound to him, perhaps his magic considered their strength as his own now? “My Lord, I’ m unsure exactly what substances are in your system , but I do know  they don’t belong.  There’s too much in your system to do this  with  the usual  method , but there’s a variant of the technique that would cause the same effect over a week  or two . Do you trust me, my Lord?” 

A s Harry stroked her head gently, trying to ignore his nudity and light covering of ash, h e told her he trusted her completely. She smiled,  for the first time in a long time  it was beginning to feel like she had a place where she belonged. Almost all of the positive feelings revolved around the man in front of her, so her next actions became much easier. 

***Adult scene moved to a separate fic on Ao3***

Sadly, there was no time to bask in the afterglow. And though a small part of her wanted to swallow the s eed in her mouth just to see her Lord’s expression, there was a reason she was performing this procedure. Carefully p lacing a sample with minimal saliva into a s mall vial she had set next to the chair before she began, she turned and s pit the rest into a consumption seal.  (A brother of the common latrine system, this one  was  made to destroy dangerous substances and convert them into the energy that would feed into the nearest ley -l ine.) 

Alira rinsed and repeated several times, the final time having pulled up a mouthful of her breath attack which _still_ tasted better than the filth she’d pulled out of Harry Potter. She turned around to a concerned young man pulling on his pants and turned away from where she’d been ridding herself of what had formerly been inside his body.

“I’m sorry, I probably should have explained that better my Lord. I just wanted that filth out of you, and the n ormal method wo uld have require you to be bled out, twice.” Now looking hesitant, scared even, she  continued . “Please don’t be angry with me, Harry.”

Still bewildered, Harry just stepped forward and gently rubbed her head,  the action a pleasant, calming action for both of them. When she  leaned into him, he answered her. “I’m not angry with you Alira. Just give me a little more warning next time, okay? I’m grateful though: I enjoyed that  but  I could tell you hated it.”

Having enjoyed several minutes of physical contact, Alira was calm. “It was disgusting, but that was the poison, not you. We’ll need to do this every night for at least a week, each time the substances in your system  should decrease .  N ow , t he magic of the life- fire will cause your body to begin repairing itself, within two weeks your vision should  be greatly improved and your overall health as well. In a few days the Reds might want to breathe on you again  to speed up the process and the Broodmother will help when she’s out of stasis. 

“You remember how you briefly passed out when you came through the portal? That happened because you experienced what we call magical intoxication. Usually it only occurs in the presence of a great a mount of magic, but that’s relative to what individuals have become used to. 

“Since Azeroth has so much more  latent  magic than Earth, I want you to only consume the supplies we took with us. A greater amount of the arcane… I guess the best term in English would be ‘background radiation’ that has suffused  everything back  home will benefit you as your body heals. It should strengthen your magic, but to what degree is impossible to tell at this point.” Left unsaid was that strengthening her Lord would allow him to fight the parasite more effectively as well.

“One last thing my Lord. As soon as possible, I would like to spend the night sleeping next to you. That would let me enter your dreams again, so that I can  assess your mind for any damage that has been done to it and begin healing you as  needed .”

At that point, Alira got a rather nasty surprise. Harry’s expression which had been relaxed shifted into something tense and just a little angry. “I do not need a mind-healer. You will not make attempts to diagnose or heal my mind, understood? That is an order!” She backed away at that, more startled than anything else. More than anything else, her Lord’s manner seemed inconsistent with his previous bearing. Also, oddly it seemed that the magic that bound the drakes to Harry Potter wasn’t enforcing that command. 

_ Oh well,  _ _ time to play the timid whelp. We’ll get a plan together after Harry and the old woman leave for the night. _ While she disliked dece ption , Alira acknowledged it was sometimes necessary so she forced her posture and bearing into something even more timid and su bmissive than usual. 

“ I’m sorry my Lord! Please don’t be angry with me!” she spoke in a wavering voice even as she let a few tears leak from her eyes. _ Tears might be a little much, but as his healer, I need to know more about how whatever is effecting his mind, if it releases him quickly, and more importantly what he thinks of his outburst after the fact.  _

The effect did pass quickly, and Harry was back to comforting the Green drake. He even apologized, though the apology was for scaring her, not for his words or tone. Deciding to worry about his mind later, Alira gave him several v ials . “This is a Catseye  Elixir , i t enhances vision. Usually it’s effects are temporary, but with all the healing magic in your system there’s a chance the effects could be permanent, in part or whole. I want you to drink it just before you swallow this one, an Elixir of Troll’s Blood. Don’t worry, it’s made from herbs, not actual blood. The second one promotes regeneration, which is slightly different from healing. Take them both just before you eat some of our supplies. 

“Lastly, drink this vial of Dreamless Sleep  p otion when you’re about to fall asleep; take it all in one swallow, d on’t try to sip it .”  When Harry asked about the possibility of addiction to the last potion, commenting they had one with the same name, Alira responded quickly. 

“No, th e potion is not physically addicting. Whelps and drakes of my Flight often use it to gain access to the Emerald Dream before we master slipping in and out on our own. The only dangers are the possibility of taking it so often that your body would forget how to fall asleep on your own, and the danger of a mental addiction. Even if you became addicted, the limited supply and high cost of the ingredient would  dissuade your rather quickly.  But don’t worry, we have plenty of this potion, and some samples of the ingredient I can grow once we secure a greenhouse. ” 

With all of that done, Harry finished getting dressed and they both walked out towards the main hall  of the Chamber of Secrets . Quickly transfiguring a rough table  (His vision was a bit better than when he had e ntered the Chamber ,  though he still required glasses.)  he turned to ask where they kept the food he was supposed to eat, but Dobby had beaten them to it, leaving both Harry and the emerald drake hoping the little guy wasn’t actually watching  at all times . 

While Harry started to eat some s ort of jerky immediately after chugging both potions as instructed, the loyal little house elf started work on another dish with some liver and heart from the stores.  (Dobby knew that modern humans tended to only eat the muscles of animals, but much nutrition resided in organs like the liver. Determined to help Harry Potter, he endeavored to make the most of the materials on hand. Poor Harry was in for a bit of a surprise though, except for a few vegetables used to correct mineral deficiencies, his new friends were completely carnivorous. Dobby would do his best to make all this palatable, but by the time the supplies ran out Harry would be d esperate for a sa lad.)

Soon, Harry was joined by everyone else currently in the Chamber.  (Save the Red siblings, they were taking the opportunity to rest.) All four of the original group had achieved their Mortal Forms, with  Ralion bearing the shape of a human male, roughly seventeen years old. He wasn’t very tall, especially compared to the humans of Azeroth, standing about five feet and n ine inches high. His hair was jet black, a short beard framed his face, his features were both  chiseled and kindly; as if he was a man who could be both hard in the face of his enemies and kind to those he favored. His eyes, however, were the same s hade of purple as most of his scales. 

Caliona also wore a human form, hers bearing aristocratic, s harp features with black eyes and her long black hair was streaked with blue. Harry saw none of this, but did enjoy speaking with them as they all sat around the table. 

As Harry and the  dragons  prepared to  enjo y a late meal  Aurogos spoke up. “I thought we might get some practice in table manners.  Professor, I thought you might enjoy some tea while critiquing. I know the proper decorum for Night Elves, High Elves, and even t he nobles of Stormwind but I fear I’m not sure on what’s proper for your society. ” 

T he Blue drake explained even as the table was furnished with a meal, including an evening tea with the assorted snacks for Professor  McGonagall. “ My Lord, I’ve spoken to your ‘Deputy Headmistress’ about enrolling some of us in Hogwarts. This lets us both be close to you  _ and _ allows us the chance to learn a new form of magic. We require wands, but fortunately we still have our ‘sheds’ collections.  Dragons usually try to ho ld onto our scales, fangs, and claws when they fall out,  since they’re sometimes useful . 

“When we can get some sunlight and soil,  we can grow a  special tree  from a preserved cutting around  the cores and with some enchanting work, get serviceable wands. I have to admit I’m impressed with how precise your people’s foci are, I hope t o get one for myself someday. With your permission I’d like to enter the school myself with Ralion, Dalistraza, and Senastrasz. Since his  form is  nearly human, we can pass  off Senastrasz’s ears as a deformity best kept under an illusion.”

“ That sounds like a good idea. I’m guessing the rest of you will be down here? And you know a little about the house system here, do you have any thoughts on it?  Is there anything else w e need to do ? ” 

“ Likely we’ll spread out among the students.  A lot of our efforts will be going towards getting things ready for  Valistraza and the whelps she’ll be looking after. Most important is a stable food source, our young can really eat. Also we’re going to be working on a surface exit, I’ll be repairing the wardstone  before we start to dig though , and we’ll be further fortifying this place. I had a thought on that actually. You said the entrance to this place is a girl’s bathroom that is rarely used, right?” 

Aurogos received a nod  from Harry . “In that case, would you be willing to use the Fidelius Charm on it? It wouldn’t seem to be a great loss to the school, and it would add a great deal of defense to our location here. We’ve looked, but there only seems to be the one entrance right now.”

After a moment of thought as he chewed on a n interesting piece of jerky, (“It’s actually called Talbuk,  some of our scouts in Outland found them to be delicious so we imported and maintain some herds on islands. Maybe someday we could raise some here too!”) “I don’t have a problem with that at all. Hermione brewed a potion called  P olyjuice  three years ago in this bathroom because almost no one uses it. My reading on the charm said that it isn’t possible to be the secret keeper for more than one secret, so who wants this one?”

And so, after sharing a meal, a walk and double checking that the bathroom was still secure Harry began drawing the needed symbols on the surfaces of the bathroom, ignoring the ghost of Myrtle as he worked. His less than perfect vision wasn’t much of a problem, as the drakes had seen him drawing the symbols the first time and had excellent memories. In fact, as Aurogos pointed out, when drawing lines for a spell or carving runes intent was half the point anyway. In the end, they decided to give the secret to Talion, as he would be spending a good deal of time down in the Chamber and in the worst case, would be the least likely to be captured. 

Harry was again sweaty and accepted a n enchanted bottle of water as he rested, Talion quickly sharing the secret among their group.  To his own surprise, the magic came a little easier to him than the  day previous.  Several of them felt bad about displacing the ghost of Myrtle Warren, but she was too much of a security risk. Sadly they lacked the skills to perform an exorcism, and other usual methods of dealing with a spirit were centered around the more solid and d rastically more hostile spirits of Azeroth. (The idea of friendly ghosts was r ather strange to the newcomers to Earth.) 

After securing the bathroom the group broke apart with the Deputy Headmistress lending her mirror to the dragons.  They had a plan for the next day: Harry would carry the drakes in a shrunken trunk to Grimmauld Place, and he and Sirius would apparate or portkey somewhere to grow the needed tree. 

His head of house would leave him at Headquarters, then ensure she wasn’t followed and waste some time in the muggle world until a mirror call let her know to head back. After that, the drakes would purchase what they needed and meet up with Harry and Minerva after they left the optometrist.  After a little additional time with his d ragons , Harry headed up to Gryffindor tower for the night.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Back down in the Chamber of Secrets all nine drakes gathered around a mirror now leaning against a wall. Ralion, again taking charge (Both he and Aurogos at this point had assumed that one of them would end up leading the drakes and the other would be the second in command, but neither wanted leadership enough to risk the current cohesion of the group. The two of them were content to let things fall as they may, so long as the group thrived and their Lord was protected.) leaned in close to the mirror and said “Paddy.” Soon, the mirror shifted and a man that looked even less crazy than the last time they saw him showed up on the other side.

Sirius was surprised to see a teenager’s face he didn’t recognize on the other side of the mirror, but the purple eyes were suspicious, and when he pulled back a little and took a seat with eight other individuals, two of them crimson dragons with one that was in the process of nodding off and the other fast asleep, he got the idea. “So, you all are the dragons that know my godson? Is he around?”

The young man with blue hair spoke up first. “Actually he’s just headed up to his dormitory for the night. We wanted to speak to you, we need some information to better aid our Lord, and you might have what we need. First, why did you send your godson a book on protecting yourself against the mind arts?”

Sirius thought for a moment. In theory, none of these creatures were capable of betraying Harry, and odds of their being overheard were low. As soon as they confirmed there would be no one e avesdropping , whether man, ghost, or elf, (The last one was seen to by Dobby, and he was being thorough in his efforts.)  Sirius began. 

“Saturday morning I was speaking with Minerva McGonagall and she said something that any rational person would assume involved insanity or mental control. The moment I realized that, compulsions in my mind triggered, trying to make me agree with her. I only escaped because s ome magical artifact exists in my  f amily to protect the mind of the Family Head. I started looking for w ays to protect myself and the people I care about. Occlumency isn’t a terribly fast art to learn, but if Harry can work on it for at least a few hours a day maybe by Christmas I can tell him what’s really going on. Have you seen something that’s troubling you? Wait, when did you even learn English?”

He was answered by the cat-centaur. “We think  our Lord has mastered mental defense, at least as much as can be done without enduring harsh attacks. Harry had an interesting idea, so last night we had Alira, (He pointed at the purple elf.) bring us into a realm that’s as much a dream as reality and I created a r unic circle that  drastically  sped time up within the effected area. We had seventy-three days where I was the only one that needed to sleep or eat to learn English, master mental defenses, and share all of our tragic backstories.” 

There was a collected series of groans at that. Inclining its head towards the Night Elf, she picked up Stine’s cue and continued. “As we were leaving the Dream and waking up, I saw something concerning bound to Harry. It was dark and full of anger, and must have wormed its way deep into him to be dragged into the Dream when I called _Harry_ in with my magic. 

“We don’t know what it is, exactly, but it’s obviously having a negative impact on him, mentally, magically, and physically. Our Lord isn’t sleeping well,  even though  we have a decent supply of a potion that will treat that on hand for now but it isn’t a permanent solution. Though, to be honest, even the worse case of side effects for the potion are better than him living without real, restful sleep. I’m going to need a private greenhouse within  three week s to produce the potion uninterrupted if we can’t find a better solution though. 

“Also, whatever the  _ parasite,”  _ The Green drake spat that word out. “is, it could have been easily removed, assuming Harry was infected when his parents died.  _ Now, _ it has spread beyond the little bit of flesh and bone and into his brain. Harry  also has unknown substances saturating him, I  removed some of it and retained a sample if you have someone who can analyze it. One other thing was a shock at the end of the examination: When I asked Harry to allow me a look at his mind, and start healing any damage that might have been done, his demeanor changed instantly and he gave me a direct order not to diagnose or perform any healing on his mind. It’s odd, because any direct order from him should be completely binding  for us, but this one isn’t.”

Sirius Black was not happy about that news, to be sure. “Is he okay? Is he in any imminent danger?” (Sadly, his godson’s life was usually in danger, so he felt the need to be specific.) He saw the man with blue hair elbow one of the Red dragons to rouse her from her slumber, once she was awake again he whispered into the side of her head. (While lacking ears, a small, very sensitive piece of scale on either side provided the same functionality.)

Giving out a deep yawn, the crimson dragon spoke in a tone that surprised Sirius in it’s femininity. “I think he’s safe enough for now. We’re treating him for the years of malnutrition and rough treatment, my brother and I hit him with  a big treatment of life-fire, so we’re worn out for now. His vision will improve under our treatments, within a few weeks he will probably be able to ditch the glasses. 

“In good news, the parasite in his scar _ really _ didn’t like the life-fire, so that gives me hope that the Broodmother in stasis  can  weaken the parasite enough for other methods to remove it .  Right now, we’re fighting it in as many ways as we can: Helping Harry grow stronger, protecting his sleep because an exhausted mind is much more susceptible to attack,  improving his sense of self-worth to counter the parasite and his life, and using whatever magic we can find to disrupt the parasite’s hold . 

“If all that still fails, we have a functional portal to Azeroth, and there are individuals much more powerful than us living on that world. Sadly Azeroth is rather dangerous. From what we can tell, the stronger our Lord grows the better he’ll be able to fight back against the parasite, so the various treatments will only help.” With another wide yawn that showed off her various fangs she laid her head down and promptly went to sleep.

Sirius watched a moment as she really seemed to be fast asleep on the stone floor. “Will she be alright? In humans magical exhaustion can be serious.”

Again the purple elf spoke up. “ She’ll be fine after some rest and a big breakfast come morning. As Harry’s godfather, what do you want us to do about the m ind spells on our Lord? I’m uncomfortable treating him against his will, but the fact that I would be able to is concerning.”

The face of Sirius hardened. He really hated the fact that, on top of everything else, Albus had twisted Harry’s mind.  _ And it isn’t just Harry’s mind. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was everyone in the Order of the Phoenix, many of the students, and  _ _ probably anyone else he thought he could get away with as well. _ “Treat him, but be subtle as you can. He’s under enough stress as it is, and I don’t want to heap more on him. Also, Harry has two close friends, you’ve met Hermione Granger, but probably haven’t met Ron Weasley yet. If Harry has compulsions in his head, I’d bet they do as well.  Harry relies on them more than I think he knows, so please help them as well. As a head’s up you can be sure that  they’ll have the same compulsion to avoid treatments.”

“Understood. We’ll do everything we can. Is there anything we should know before some of us join the school?” Again it was the man with blue hair responding.

“Keep your mental defenses up at all times. Beware Dolores Umbridge, and the Headmaster. Snape has at least some  skill in the mind arts, so be careful of him  too . A number of students will have parents directly serving the Dark Lord, especially those in Slytherin House, so be careful what is said in front of them. If the Ministry finds you, the best you can hope for is a quick death, more likely you’ll either be presented to the Dark Lord or you’ll be dissected in the Department of Mysteries. Please be careful, both for your sake and Harry’s.” 

That said, after a few pleasantries the discussion ended. Almost everyone turned in for the night, only Aurogos and Stine staying up and moving to the  Chamber’s  wardstone.  Aurogos was pretty sure he could handle the stone himself, but when handling an unknown stone it paid to have a friend nearby that could get you to a healer if  the worst happened . 

It was a long night’s work, but by morning the stone was active again. Thankfully it wasn’t the stone itself that had failed but the exterior runes that fed it power. The Blue drake added sets of Dwarven runes to increase the structural strength, improve air filtration, added a self-repair system, plus a series of Draconic runes that would attack anyone attempting to breach the Chamber of Secrets. Stine made a few additions of his own, though he refused to say exactly what they all did. Once the stone was ready and once again connected to the ley-lines under the castle, Aurogos and Stine stepped back and allowed it to charge for nearly an hour as they made bits of small talk. 

Once it was ready, Aurogos dripped a little blood onto the stone and fed it a rather large chunk of his magic to claim mastery over the wardstone.  Slowly at first, then faster he found he could feel a presence in his mind, feeding him information as the stone awoke.  Once done, he was surprised at how far the stone’s effect actually reached. It wasn’t just the stone for the Chamber, but the lower fourth of the castle as well. 

_ Wait, a _ _ system of four separate wardstones? I wonder if there’s a master stone somewhere or if the various stones just operate independently?  _ In any case, it was time for a bit of rest  before the next day. A few hours of sleep wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing, and Aurogos had done more on less sleep in both the wars he’d fought in. He asked Stine to wake him when the time came and joined the pile of drakes still sleeping, and fell asleep quickly. Stine chose to stay up and watch the Chamber slowly repair itself, the magic filtering through the stones of the school getting put to use as the various cracks repair ed themselves  even  as metal shed rust and wear.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Harry didn’t garner much attention when he entered the common room,  at  an hour till c urfew the room wasn’t terrible lively. Ron had been doing a bit of homework while Hermione had been reading a copy of a book from the Room of Requirement. (All the books in the  school’s  library had charms on them to prevent  students d uplicating them , but the books in the Room lacked those protections. She  _ had _ been busy while Harry visited Azeroth.)  While his vision had improved a bit, Hermione still had to call out for him to help him find  his way to the table they were using .  Both of them turned their attention to him as he sat down and Hermione threw up a series of very powerful privacy barriers. 

Hermione didn’t realize it, but she was already a more powerful user of magic than she was a few days ago. Adolescence was stage of life when the well of magical energy within humans could experience the most growth, pulling loose magic from the environment to augment itself. For centuries the students had been dependent on the ley-line convergence under Hogwarts castle, but now energy was pouring in from the portal and Hermione had spent the weekend at ‘ground zero.’

Both of his friends began sniffing the air as Harry made himself comfortable. Ron was the first to comment on the odd smell. “Mate, why do you smell like you’ve been standing next to a bonfire? I can buy McGonagall covering for you two, but that’s an odd smell to pick up in Hogwarts.”

For the first time, Harry found himself considering how much he could tell Ron. Though he almost completely trusted his friend (His actions fourth year after the Goblet, while forgiven, weren’t yet forgotten.) the knowledge of just how easy it was for people to steal information from an unguarded mind caused him to hesitate. “Ron, I’d like to tell you everything, but I don’t think I can yet.”

When Ron began to bluster, Harry held up his hand and spoke forcefully. “Yet! Hermione and I have just learned how easy it is for people to root around in your head and take what they want. There’s two or three people in the castle that would just love to know what we’ve been up to so they can attack me and others with it. If you don’t believe me, I can prove just how easy it is.”

“You’re crazy. Go ahead, but then I want some kind of explanation.”

“Okay, try to defend yourself, I’ll be looking for something embarrassing. _Legilimens!”_ From Ron’s perspective, he suddenly felt a pressure inside his head, then he was remembering events from the trio’s years at Hogwarts without meaning to. Harry was trying to make a point, and suddenly Ron remembered every time they broke the rules, ever danger they had gone through together. When Harry found a memory of a child’s attempt to prank his older brothers that the twins had turned around on him in a very humiliating manner, he pulled out. 

“When you were seven years old...”

“No! Okay I believe you! I saw every  memory you looked at . How many times have you used that spell?” 

“Just a couple times with Hermione to check each other’s defenses. I tried to keep a light touch, are you feeling any pain?”

“Got a bleeding headache mate. That was a light touch?”

“Yeah, if you’re not careful you can do real damage with this spell.  Scary thing is, people that really know what they’re doing? You won’t even know they’re there.”  Hermione passed a stack of handwritten notes to Ron. Harry sent a curious look at her.

“It’s the notes for the first few steps with some of our additions. When we can, I want to show Ron a movie or two so he can get some ideas for his mental defense. There’s a new Star Trek series out that could work too, it’s based around a large space station.”

“Not a bad idea, but I bet something like Helm’s Deep or Gondor from the Lord of the Rings book series would be a better. A stone fortress just seems like it would work better for him. But the movies would be great for guardians.” Ron followed the exchange, as he glanced at the notes. He let out a sigh as he glanced over the first few steps.

This got Harry’s attention again, so he continued his curtailed explanation to Ron. “So, Hermione and I were not inside of a mouse-hole this weekend. I bet you even figured out we were in the Room of Requirement most of the time. I promise to fill you in on the details as soon as we can, but for now I just want you to know that things are going to be changing a bit.

“There’s some new people coming to the castle tomorrow, I want you to know that they are trustworthy no matter what house they end up in. I’m going to drop divination and switch to Runes since I’m not getting anything useful from it and I have a Dark Lord that wants to kill me. I need to be ready or I have no future.” The last statement silenced the conversation for a bit, as the seriousness of the coming war settled.

Hermione was the one that broke the silence. “So, why do you smell like a really nice bonfire? And is that soot on your neck?”

Harry smiled for a moment. “It turns out those years with my _relatives_ did more than just leave me a little scrawny. They actually fed me so little that it had caused some problems, but I’m healing now. An application of something called ‘Life-fire,’ which is a healing technique this is exactly as it sounds and some potions should have me fine within a couple weeks. Oh, and it turns out I’ve got a bunch of foreign substances in my body, but no idea what they are yet.” 

When asked about the potions by his most curious friend, he told them what he knew. “So they’re combining the effects of this ‘life-fire’ and potions to heal you, with the hope that th is ‘elixir’ ‘sticks’ thanks to the healing magic running through you? So you could end up with vision better than ‘perfect?’”

“That’s what the healer said, I’d just be happy to not need glasses anymore. And I feel a little stronger already, but mostly I’m hungry.” With that, Harry started eating a piece of jerky from a bag in his pocket. He found that the more of this ‘Talbuk’ stuff he ate, the more he liked it.  _I wonder how hard it would be to start raising them myself? Sirius mentioned an island…_

Ron was quiet for a moment as he processed what was going on. He admitted being very distracted briefly by the smell from his best mate’s snack, but he was more than his stomach, even if his table manners still needed some work. He hadn’t learned much, but he glanced again at the handwritten notes in front of him.  _No time like the present I guess._

From there, the three enjoyed a comfortable time of quiet camaraderie as Ron and Hermione studied and Harry answered various questions and gave Ron tips on the initial steps of mental defense. Before long it was time for bed, and Harry found that the Dreamless Sleep  potion worked as prescribed.  As soon as he swallowed he was out like a light.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Back in London, Sirius Black was speaking to  Nymphadora Tonks in a private study. “Cousin, I want to officially bring you into the family along with your mother. You see, Draco Malfoy is in danger of inheriting the entire Black family estate if I die, and I’d like to have your mother in the Family in case of emergency. Does she know I’m innocent?” 

Once again, Sirius felt anger flare at Albus as Dora told him that the Headmaster had suggested that anything that might bring attention to their headquarters not be discussed with anyone. “Dora, Andromeda was always my favorite cousin, probably my favorite relative period. I’m going to have Kreacher find an expanded trunk and I’m going to have you bring her the family pensieve to her with a few vials of memories.  I’m also going to spell the contents so nothing breaks on the way.  I’m going to swear an oath that the memories are genuine, then you’ll swear an oath that you saw me swear an oath.” 

When Dora started to grumble, Sirius spoke again. “It’s the best way I can think of to prove I’m innocent. Tell her if she wants to question me under Veritaserum I don’t mind. For the Blacks, there’s a little ceremony to bring someone back into the family, and I need her here in person for it. I’m also sending a mirror and instructions on it so she can ask me questions after she sees the memories. Remember, we need to keep this place out of the hands of Malfoy, and your mother is a talented healer, with a war coming we could use another of those.”

Not long after, Sirius sat down in a comfortable chair with a cup of strong tea to wait for the mirror call. Kreacher, with his brother’s final task completed seemed to be a c ompletely different elf, and the house was beginning to reflect it. While still as rude as ever to the Order members, the house was, room by room, being restored to glory. When people had complained that the house still had a very Slytherin look to it, Sirius had just asked if they wanted to live in a filthy, decrepit house or one with the ‘wrong’ colors. It seemed people preferred the clean house. 

It was truly odd feeling a little joy in watching Kreacher move with pride in his work again.  _ Well, things have sure changed since Harry called me early Saturday, hopefully for the better. If nothing else, the arrival of those creatures is causing ripples like water on a pond. I wonder how far they’ll reach.  _

_ But if nothing else is sure, Harry deserves better than he’s had so far. If those dragons give him what he needs to live through the coming war and thrive, there’s nothing else I can do but help out as much as I can. Andromeda will be helpful, if only in examining that sample from Harry. I wish I knew more about that parasite on Harry, I’ll start looking through the library t _ _ omorrow morning _ _. A good night’s sleep and hopefully more information will make my work easier.  _

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

AN: To head off some questions going forward, Albus has a seriously (but thankfully not Siriusly) cursed item in his possession. No one but Elune knows that, so they’re going to make certain logical conclusions.

Next chapter Draco gets put on ice.


	8. Chapter 8: Draco Malfoy gets put on Ice!

I own neither franchise! Harry’s grandparents are Charlus and Dorea in this fic, partly because they’re more interesting names, and because I like the idea of Sirius being welcomed into the Potter’s home by Dorea. Sorry this is a little late, I’ve been having some formatting problems. ><

  
  


Chapter 8: Draco Malfoy gets put on Ice!

  
  


H arry was the first one awake in his dormitory, not a terribly unusual event. What was unusual was how wide awake, how vibrant he felt. It almost felt like he had never been awake before in his life. He normally showered in the mornings to help himself wake up, but last night he’d been covered in a fine layer of ash. Embarrassingly, most of that ash seemed to be the few hairs he’d been growing everywhere but the top of his head. 

In any case, he had been putting off his homework in the light of more important things, so after a few attempts he transfigured something close to his glasses, though they left him with a bit of a migraine by the time his friends were ready to head down to breakfast. Dobby came through again and made his secret medical diet palatable. (None of the dragons even knew they _had_ flour, but the little guy had found it and already put it to use.)

During breakfast he chatted with Neville about methods for constructing magical greenhouses, and it ended up being a rather interesting subject. Neville offered several book titles for Harry to find copies of, telling him that they had been very useful when his home’s greenhouses had needed refurbishment. Hermione was kind enough to copy down the titles for him. When he was finished he said his goodbyes to his friends and headed up to the staff table, waiting politely to be acknowledged.

  
  


Thankfully, just as Professor Snape was about to lay into him, Professor McGonagall spoke up, asking him if he was ready. When he replied that he was, once again his Professor led him out of the hall, this time to her office, making a quick stop in the bathroom that once belonged to Myrtle, he quickly shrank the waiting trunk and continued on. Stine was sitting in the bathroom with the trunk, and Harry wished the drake a good morning as he turned and headed back into the Chamber.

  
  


When they reached McGonagall’s office she quickly sent her personal house elf off with a message for the  H eadmaster, and to place a notice on the door of her classroom just before they entered the Floo, bound for Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Once there, Harry greeted his godfather who was waiting on them, the two of them stealing away for a moment while the Professor made arrangements for a guard detail around the magical optometrist office. 

Sirius unshrunk the trunk and opened the lid briefly to discuss a location that would work for growing a batch of wands. While the dragons didn’t exit the trunk, they did send up a few requirements for their project. It was, however, rather disorientating for them to be in a place and not know the secret. Sirius promised to try to get them access when he brought Andromeda in on it.

  
  


“ So, you need a place with fertile soil and strong latent magic? To be honest, my first thought would be the Potter Ancestral Manor. The manor building is rubble but there’s plenty of open space. You have your cloak? Good, Kreacher! Please give this note to Minerva as soon as we leave.” Quickly, he shrunk the trunk and got a strong grip of Harry’s shoulder. 

“I don’t really know if there are still wards up or not, if they exist at all they’re fractured. Thankfully if they’re functional at all I’m one of the few who can apparate us there.” He saw a lot of life in Harry’s eyes at that. “Harry, just a word of warning, this place hasn’t been lived in since your grandparents, Charlus and Dorea died. They were great people, until they spoke out too often against Voldemort.”

  
  


With that, and the trunk replaced in his pocket, Harry experienced his first apparition. It was not a pleasant experience, for him or the drakes in the trunk. Harry quickly removed the trunk from his pocket and set it down before dry-heaving on the ground. He was joined quickly by five dragons, all looking rather unhappy. Aurogos, in his natural form once more was the first to speak. “My Lord, the moment we have time, you are learning the Azeroth ‘teleport’ spell. Magical transport shouldn’t feel like that.”

  
  


It was several more moments before all of them got to their feet and caught up to where Sirius, after setting some spells to keep people out during their visit was standing in front of a ruined structure, once a large manor. Rotted wood was exposed and large scorch marks still blackened the stone. The structure was situated on a small hill, overlooking fifty acres of grass fields and orderly trees with a small lake  to the south . In the distance, the fields transitioned into the surrounding forest.

  
  


Sirius was crying, his mind elsewhere as he remembered his time here, the summer days now long since lost and the family that had taken him in when he was thrown out by his ‘parents.’ “I’m sorry, mom and dad. You were the best people I ever knew, but I failed James. Harry’s here now, and I give my oath that I won’t fail him like I did his father, like I did my brother.”

  
  


Feeling the despair in the man, Harry stepped up next to him. “And I swear I will see this place rebuilt such that it  _ never _ falls again.” While the drakes determined if this place would serve their immediate needs, Sirius shared a few stories about the home of the Potter family, and the tale of how he came to live with them. Soon though, Aurogos interrupted them to say that the land would serve for what they needed, and the others were almost ready.

  
  


“ My Lord, there’s a lot I want to teach you about magic, and there’s no better place for the first lesson than here. I’d like you to sit and try to spread out your senses.” When the teen was sitting, Aurogos began his lesson. 

“First, breathe in and out. There’s magic in the air, everywhere life exists. It exists in the air, in the ground, and in every cell of your flesh. I want you to try reaching out with your mind, to sense the magic all around you. If you get frustrated, stop trying and just breathe in and out until you feel calm again and then try again.” With that, Aurogos left to get his part of the wand-crafting operation started, and Sirius sat down nearby, watching over Harry and looking out at the green fields and neighboring forests.

  
  


After about half an hour, the teen startled him when he exclaimed “I can feel it!” Smiling, Sirius asked him what it felt like. “It feels warm and welcoming. It’s like this is where I belong. I can feel something else too now, it's like something is drawing in magic from the soil, collecting it.” 

Looking around, Sirius saw a tree growing in a way that _had_ to be magic. It grew to about eight feet tall and sprouted crimson leaves that had a healthy gloss to them. It was presumably magical and while it didn’t seem like it was from this world, it radiated a sense of _life_. Sirius had a stray thought about the power of healing wands could be made from it and almost missed what Harry was saying. “That’s interesting, the thing I sensed is still drawing magic in, but it's radiating different magic too. It’s like it’s sucking the magic in and changing it before sending it back out.”

  
  


Both of them missed the approach of Aurogos until he spoke, jumping when he startled them. “Well done my Lord. Sensing magic like that will be much harder for you in other places, even more so when you’re not this serene, but you’ve made a great start. We need to let the tree absorb the magic for a bit. How would you like to see how big of an area you can cast the Fidelius Charm over?”

  
  


It turned out Harry could stretch the charm over the entire property and some of the nearby forest. As he walked the boundary, getting ready to cast the spell, he was followed by Sirius who was demonstrating his animagus transformation for the two dragons under invisibility spells. Harry Potter and his godfather discovered that disillusioned, silenced dragons are nearly impossible to detect. Ralion mentioned how he loved being in the air, the freedom it brought. Harry _understood_ that, and resolved to ensure the drakes got to enjoy time in the air. 

Aurogos did land and observe when Harry was drawing the boundary markings, making sure he got it right. Casting the charm over such a large area should have been beyond his capabilities, but he felt the magic of the land helping him. Like when he had been meditating earlier, he felt a warm sense of belonging as the power surged through him. Aurogos requested the secret, saying that he was more than willing to make this place a project of his, and described some possible wards that required structures to be built around them. Wards that, unlike the Ministry approved defenses most homes in England boasted,  fully  fit the phrase ‘aggressively defensive.’

(Aurogos had listened carefully to Sirius as he described how Death Eaters brought down wards during the last war, and was already sketching out a ward scheme in his head that would counter such attacks. He could already hear the screams of the masked cowards the first time they attempted to breach the defenses he would lay for his Lord.)

  
  


When Harry had caught his breath, Aurogos had a little more work for him. “Now that you’ve felt the magic of this place, I want you to try to sense your own magic. It will be extremely difficult to do here when you’re feeling calm, but should make for good practice. The very earth here is saturated with your family’s magic. As your forbears cast spells and simply lived here, the magic produced by spells and simply living soaked into everything nearby. I can even tell you that for the most part they were good people, generous and brave.”

  
  


Sirius interrupted at that. “You can tell that from the land? Really?”

  
  


Harry answered before the drake could. “It builds on something they said when we performed the ritual and later discussed in the Dream. Your magic is you, in the sense that the raw power we take in is processed as your body makes it useful to you. Emotions, our souls have weight and value, though truly understanding how they impact anything seems to be beyond mortal life. Anyway, emotions and your soul tint your magic, they add a little of your true self into every spell. Did I get that right?”

  
  


Once again proving that a drake’s smile has a _lot_ of teeth, Aurogos gave his approval. “I think you understand. Now, don’t use your Occlumency to calm your mind for this exercise. Your magic responds to your emotions, when you are calm your magic will be placid, smooth as a lake without any wind. When you feel rage and anger, it will be like the sea in a storm, turbulent. Spend some time attempting to sense it now, in the future we’ll find a way to get you angry so you experience your magic roiling within you as well. 

“Being able to feel your magic is the first step to mastering it, the next step is usually sending it out away from one’s self mostly uncontrolled. The step after is throwing bolts or breaths of crudely-shaped magic and from there a lot of time is spent learning to shape your magic to whatever end you require.

  
  


“ Your people use, or I would say are dependent on wands to shape their magic into spells; this is the lazy way. Wands have a number of enchantments on them that do most of the shaping for you, but this also imposes a limit on how much power can be channeled at any one time. It’s fascinating how the magic of this world developed; like I explained to McGonagall, you have the knife to our sledgehammer. Both have advantages my Lord. You will learn both styles of magic and end up with something new, something that has the advantages of both. Now, get to work while we craft some wands.”

  
  


All five drakes gathered back near the new tree, it was nearly ready to make the wands, Alira having encouraged it to grow long, thin branches. Aurogos and Stine had spent much of the night whittling down their claws, fangs, and scales into thin shapes. One by one,  Senastrasz would use his talon to carve a hollow space in an appropriate branch, Dalistraza would carefully place the core material into the wound, and as Aurogos wove the enchantments Alira shaped the wood  around the core . After the wood sealed itself, each wand drastically changed color, the cores altering the living wood. The early attempts were ineffective, however the Red dragons had something of an idea for them. “The wood in the wands isn’t really dead. We can plant them, work some magic and the new trees should take on attributes of the cores we added.” In the end, they manufactured a good two dozen wands of various cores and shapes.

  
  


It took three hours of experimenting, but the end results were pronounced to be workable, though not quite as good as an Ollivander wand. Sirius told Harry it couldn’t hurt to carry a backup, so long as he kept it concealed in public.

  
  


Harry picked out a Basilisk fang core, with the emerald colored wood seemingly etched with a pattern of scales over the entire surface. The wand that felt best to Aurogos contained one of his whelp scales shaped around the core of a talon that had been torn out (And later regrown when he made it back to the healer’s tent.)  during a battle on Mount Hyjal. As the wood grew around the core, its coloring  had  bec o me azure, with darker striations of cobalt. 

Ralion took a wand that had a fang from Tendrion  that was  a dark glacial blue with a smooth glossy finish. Ralion’s human form started to tear up as he walked away with the wand, and Harry had to stomp on Sirius’s foot before he made a comment. “Tendrion didn’t make it here, and they were brothers like you and my dad.” Harry whispered harshly, and Sirius  _ understood. _

  
  


Alira’s wand was green, incidentally the same shade as Harry’s eyes, and contained an odd core that bore a very thin sliver of scale from all nine of them. It worked well for her, in any case. Senastrasz took a wand containing a core of the Basilisk’s fang as well, but he asked Harry to alter it a little with his transfiguration and some metal from Azeroth. In the end his wand seemed less like a piece of wood and more a glinting blue-silver dagger, with a point and two edges. The addition of a bar of metal called Adamantite gave it some weight as it was seventeen inches long, and it gleamed in the early afternoon sunlight. (For the moment he used a transfigured sheath, but Stine would later make one for him out of leather.) 

Ralion had just come back when Dalistraza found her best fit in a dark purple piece of wood that bore a core of Ralion’s blood poured onto a mixture of enchanting dust then heated to crystallize. She was slightly embarrassed, as it turned out the wands, in a small way at least, felt like the donor of the core. Sirius was offered one as well, and he ended up with a striking cobalt wand shaped around several fangs Aurogos had shed as a whelp. When asked, he said it was as good or slightly better than the stolen wand he’d been using so far.

  
  


In the end, Harry was sad to leave this place, but he promised himself he would return as soon as he could. All the materials were packed up as Aurogos took a look around what was left of the wards. “It looks like the old wardstone was shattered, there’s just a few remaining active effects that keep enemies away. We’ll get it back up and running without too much trouble, even if we have to step through the portal and mine some stone for repairs.  I’d like to bring some stone from an especially magical place in Azeroth to mix with the old stones we can salvage anyway. I can add strong protections to the walls that way. ”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Back at Grimmauld Place, Minerva had stepped out shortly after arranging a security detail to follow them from the Leaky Cauldron to a small shop just off the main alley that specialized in glasses. Then she’d left citing some school business. In reality she had simply shifted her clothing into more muggle appropriate attire and visited a cinema to see a movie Hermione had recommended. 

‘Braveheart’ was certainly  _ something _ . In any case, it was a reasonable waste of time and she got back to Headquarters not very much earlier than Harry. When those present asked where she had been, she simply told them she was making arrangements for some late-entry students; it had required her personal attention because they were already decent users of magic, but not in the typical style. 

Moody had wanted more information, and the Professor had told him, when pressed, that they were fairly strong magically and they might be useful to the war when they finished schooling. With that, the group left for the Leaky Cauldron, escorting Harry to get a new set of glasses. At the same time, Sirius had Kreacher deliver the box’o dragons to an alley near the same pub. Sirius had placed the strongest glamour he knew over the odd ears of  Senastrasz’s mortal form.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Traveling with a group of magicals that apparently had no idea of the meaning of the word ‘discrete,’  Harry and  the Order group quickly arrived at their destination. Harry found himself enduring a lengthy examination, and  eventually walk ed out nearly an hour later with a set of self-correcting lenses. 

Knowing that he had the needed money, he attempted to purchase a pair of glasses with a number of optional, but useful enchantments. His Order guards however insisted that he get the baseline model, though he did  manage to at least get a self-correcting enchantment.  (His vision was improving, he doubted he would need glasses by next week, so that option was crucial.)

  
  


When the optician was asked to step out for a moment while they discussed the gold they were willing to spend, the man had agreed, but used a simple trick to listen in. Aggrieved at having his business disrupted, the man was intending to sell a memory of the discussion to the Prophet as payback. Instead, he listened to Harry Potter tell his guards that he was more than willing to pay for what seemed to be useful enchantments, if only they would _allow_ him to visit his vault with his key. When they refused, citing security concerns, the boy had argued. 

He attempted to convince them he wasn’t a prisoner, that he'd faced enough dangers in his first four years of Hogwarts that walking to the bank and back was perfectly safe in comparison, they’d scoffed. He’d calmly argued back that he had faced a troll, possessed teacher, cursed diary with the associated Basilisk, Dementors, braved a slightly disturbed man that turned out to be his sworn godfather that  _ still  _ hadn’t been given a trial, and the tournament last year.

The Potter boy said that they couldn’t keep him a prisoner for the rest of his life, and they were being unreasonable. When a voice that the optician recognized as  the thief and general low-life Mundungus Fletcher told Harry Potter they damn well could, the sinister suggestion rang loud and clear. They had no legal right to do this to Harry after his seventeenth birthday,  no matter who was the boy’s legal guardian  now ,  so if that damn thief though Harry  wouldn’t be free  of them after his majority... This was certainly something to share, but it would need to be done carefully.  He was honestly having a bit of nagging from his conscience, there was a reason Harry Potter was famous, a debt that was owed. It was  _ unseemly _ for the public to forget it so easily. 

He realized, as the group that had decided Harry wasn’t _allowed_ to visit his own vault paid and left, that while _he_ _knew_ Rita and the Prophet were generally full of shit, he had still let them shape his opinion of the boy. In his mind, he had one more realization: _They’re not going after Dumbledore like they are Potter, Dumbledore can fight back, minors rely on their families or guardians for that. Who_ is _Potter’s guardian? Even if the boy was a spoiled brat, a guardian’s task should be to help the kid grow and keep the media from ruining his life. Instead, the boy seems to almost be a prisoner. With that many wands around him, there’s no way a trip to the bank wouldn’t be safe._ _Why wouldn’t they let him then?_

A sick feeling sank into the man’s gut.  _ The Goblins would never let th _ _ ose _ _ people follow him to his vault. If they’re trying to keep the boy contained, letting him have access to his family’s vault and an easily bribed Gringotts employee would be like handing him an international portkey. No way his family doesn’t own a home or fortress somewhere abroad. What the hell has Britain allowed to happen to that boy!? _

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

While Harry was having a _marvelous_ time, the group of four (Alira remained in the trunk, now in the inner pocket of Senastrasz’s jacket. She had a decent book on the local healing spells that seemed interesting to kill the time with.) slipped into the Leaky Cauldron and asked the bartender how to get through the barrier, Aurogos showing his wand. 

That done, they began buying everything they needed, Sirius having offered to pay for their supplies and the year’s tuition out of the stockpile of gold he had that was firmly beyond the reach of the Ministry. With thanks and a promise of aid if needed, the group had accepted his offer. Stalking through the alley, three of them had begun their fittings for robes while Aurogos took care of their other shopping needs, even haggling a little. He did, in fact, get rather good deals on almost everything, as much of the Alley’s business  was decidedly slow after the start of the school year.

With the savings he entered a used bookstore and talked with the owner a bit. He got all the books Neville had recommended as well as a trove of books on basic construction, warding, masonry, runes, and a number of other topics. Perhaps most importantly he casually dropped a number of hints that  if put together would suggest his mother and her best friends had fled England when the war started targeting pureblood families, and that they had ended up happy in a far away land. He even mentioned his previous tutor, and in a bit of false horror added: “It was truly awful! He was such a great teacher… I’ll never forget the sight of that dragon as long as I live!

Walking out of the bookstore with a bag that was full even with shrinking charms, he had trouble keeping the mirth off his face. Around here it was simply easier to believe that his previous instructor had been eaten by a dragon instead of being a dragon. _Senegos, I’m glad you taught me to lie by telling the truth, even if I never thought I’d actually use those lessons._ He met up with his group back at the tailor as he went in to get his measurements done. 

“Miss, I’m afraid I might not have time to wait, would it be possible to get one set ready to wear now, and the rest sent to Hogwarts? Oh, and yes, I’d like the first one done in whichever material you make the more affluent student’s robes out of and the rest either something more durable or the standard. By the way, my friends and I have had some odd bits of magic done on us over the years, so owls may not be able to find us, please address our packages as ‘In care of Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.’ She’ll be able to levitate them over to us I’m sure.”

Robes ordered, the group wandered over to the Apothecary and watched as Dali rummaged through the stock, picking out the best quality ingredients. Aurogos again chatted with the man at the counter and rolled his eyes at the browsing female. Leaning in, he spoke in a low voice to the clerk: “Healer trainees, am I right?” 

That started off another discussion where he dropped enough hints of his background that combined with others would make for a believable, but ultimately forgettable backstory. Lots of people could remember how things were in the dark days of the Blood War, and a group of teenage girls fleeing the country together and not returning when their families disappeared would hardly be news. Not knowing their mother’s maiden names could be unusual, but people would understand old fears not going away, in a land where  Voldemort was still You-Know-Who.

  
  


In any case, supplies acquired and gossip spread, the group moved to the Alley’s ice cream stand and enjoyed a snack as they waited for Harry’s group to join them. Thankfully Mad-Eye was at that moment acting as liaison between Sirius and the Headmaster to procure the secret of their location for Andromeda. She had agreed to meet with Sirius, so long as he consented to the use of Veritaserum. The old dog was sure she would learn more than his guilt or innocence, and was hurriedly making plans for if the dragons were revealed. When the other group showed up, McGonagall suggested they order something to take with them as the group moved back to the nearest Floo connection. 

Order members stood guard, badly attempting conversation with the four newcomers that had introduced themselves politely, if in a slightly odd manner when the two groups had met. As they waited for the Transfiguration Professor to open her private Floo connection, Aurogos repeated some of the gossip at a volume that would carry to the patrons of the pub, appearing very casual and even a little excited. Soon, they were stepping through the fire, experiencing another version of magical travel. Some of the Order guards followed them through, naturally.

  
  


Once through, Harry headed down to Herbology with a note excusing his slight lateness and the Professor headed to open the doors for her last class just a little late, but not before she summoned a Prefect to give a tour of the school. The Great Hall, the library, a number of bathrooms and several secret passages made for an interesting layout. Seeing the stairs of Hogwarts castle move on their own was a little strange, but the four asked if their guide would mind joining them in the library for a time to provide more information, as they knew little about the school and those attending. Their guide was a Ravenclaw named Padma Patil, who while not terribly friendly was at least polite. She did warm up to them as Aurogos proved to be rather intelligent with a quick wit.

  
  


Time passed, with the four looking through the various books that appealed to them. Ralion had become absorbed in a tome of defensive magic, laughing aloud at some of the creatures considered threatening. Senastrasz was enjoying a book on magical botany, and he found himself looking forward to experimenting with some of the magical plants on this world. (Back home, magical plants either just grew in the ground until needed for a potion, or else required a sword, shield, and occasionally fire to deal with properly.) Dalistraza, naturally, was enjoying a read of a tome on healing spells, trying to figure out in which cases her training was superior and where the locals were better. Aurogos had been flipping through a book detailing magical theories, many of which he knew to be wrong in their entirety. 

All four though were keeping a close ear on the conversation with Padma, learning her views on the various factions within the school. She turned out to be a supporter, though very hesitant and thus far silent of Harry Potter. While sounding her out, the group individually began to think of ways to convince her and her friends to side with their Lord.

  
  


When dinner came, the noise of the room rose greatly when the Deputy Headmistress made a surprise announcement that they had four new students. She explained briefly that their previous instructor had fallen onto the wrong side of a dragon and now they had come here. This was a surprise to everyone, including the Headmaster, even more so when she announced that the students would be starting out in the first year classes until they demonstrated the necessary spell work for that year, at which point they would advance. 

When the Headmaster commented that it was a most unusual arrangement, she simply replied that they indeed had some skills, but a different method of using magic thus far. As it seemed fair to not hold them back unnecessarily, she had already agreed on behalf of the school and included it in the contract. That said, she asked a house elf to fetch the sorting hat and a larger stool. At that point the new students walked in from a side room. Pulling out a small scrap of paper, she walked down to where the Sorting Hat hat now stood upon a larger than typical stool. “Silence please! Ral Elsington, please come forward!”

  
  


From Ralion’s perspective, this was a little nerve-wracking. They really had no idea about how the hat worked beyond what McGonagall had told them, nor did they know if the hat would truly accept them. Oh well, if things went downhill he only had to flee to the Chamber and hope the new wards would protect all of them. As he placed the hat upon his head, he heard something of a grumbling within his mind.  “ _ Oh don’t mind me, Ralion of the Twilight Flight. Sorry, formerly of the Twilight Flight. This is rather interesting, I’ve never sorted a four year old before.” _

  
  


“ _ That’s your big takeaway? And yes, I understand that for humans four years of age means child, but my species is different.” _

  
  


“ _ Yes, I see now… Able to speak and reason right out of your shells, that’s interesting indeed. Now, while I like small talk as much as anyone, I am indeed a Sorting Hat! This works out for both of us, as the House I’d recommend is the one you chose to enter already!  _ ** Better be Hufflepuff!  ** _ And don’t worry my scaly friend, unless there’s a direct threat to the students, I’m not physically able to give away a student’s secrets. Good luck with your little projects!” _

  
  


Now clad in the colors of the House of Badgers _ ,  _ Ralion walked steadily to the table where he belonged with a smile, even as Minerva called out: “Dali Lothar!” After a rather fast sorting into Gryffindor, Minerva continued the impromptu sorting. “Senas Lothar!” As the young man stalked forward, the proceedings were interrupted by the current Defense Professor.

  
  


“ Ahem, young man, are you carrying a dagger within this school? Students have no need to carry a weapon here!”

  
  


Everyone present saw the young man break into chuckles for a moment. “I’m sorry Ma’am. I just found humor in that everyone in this castle carries a tool potentially more deadly than any knife with them at all times. What you see in the sheath is not a knife but my wand. I’m afraid I lost most of my family a number of years ago, and it turns out that event had a rather... large influence on the kind of wand that best fits me. I wouldn’t wish that sort of pain on anyone. With your leave, I would continue the sorting so that the other students don’t need to wait any longer for their meal Ma’am.” 

At a nod from Umbridge, he accepted the Hat and placed it upon his head without sitting. Given his height, everyone could see his face twitch a bit, as if in a silent argument, before the hat called out his place in the House of Lions.

  
  


Finally, with only one name left to go, Minerva called out the last name on her list. “Aurogon Salonar!”

  
  


Aurogos strode up to take the hat off the stool, looking imperiously over the students and staff. Projecting an aura as if he was attempting to decide whether or not those present were inferior to him, he too took the Hat and placed it upon his brow while standing. After a bit of time, the Sorting Hat began to let out a deep, booming laugh when it announced “Slytherin!” The drake in a human’s form only gave a small smile as he walked over to the Serpent’s table. 

While he’d be warding his bed every night and checking everything he ate from now on, it truly amused him how he was walking into a supposed den of dangerous creatures, and how he would enjoy showing them the truth of what power and leadership could really do. That was his goal, after all. He was going to walk into the Serpent’s Nest, find those worth saving and bring them over to his Lord’s side. Kicking and screaming if needed. These children thought they knew how to play the game of politics? Hah! He was going to eat them alive (Metaphorically, of course. Not just taboo, consuming a sentient was a way to earn a messy death: Though the exact mechanics were never researched, anything with a soul left an imprint when consumed by another; a mark that drew madness and death.) and wring them for information the whole time.

  
  


Dinner began, with the drakes greeting various students as the meal began. Aurogon quickly began to get a feel for the various students, though he could already tell most of the business here would happen behind closed doors. Thankfully, he wasn’t very hungry so he simply chatted with some of the students. Many of them seemed rather closed off right now.

  
  


Over at the Hufflepuff table, Ral felt very much out of his element, and more than a little crowded as a number of rather friendly students tried to get his story out of him. Thankfully the fifth year prefect asked the others to give him a little space when she realized he was answering most of the questions with half-answers. Deciding to be polite, he turned to her. “Thank you Hannah. I’m not exactly comfortable in large groups yet, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it with a little time.” 

With that, the Badgers backed off a little and allowed him to enjoy his liver stew in peace. The elves working in the kitchens had truly done a wonder with seasoning the dish, and it was enjoyed by most of the students who tried it. Ral smiled at the students who were being friendly, with loyalty and hard work being their motto it would be easy to get them on Harry’s side, and then whipped into fighting form.

  
  


At the table of Lions, there was a mixed reception for the newcomers. Dali repeated the line words about her previous instructor, talking about what a great teacher he was, then in a horrified tone mentioned the scales and claws. And yes, her previous instructor had been a half-dragon from the start, but no one here but her Lord and his friend knew that so far. When asked by the Weasley twins, her brother drew his wand to some gasps. Senas just rolled his eyes and stabbed a piece of meat off a platter with the tip, ate it off the blade, and then wiped his wand on a napkin before replacing it in his sheath. Both twins thought it was ‘wicked’ and had asked where he had acquired it. “We got our wands from a novice wand-maker on our way here. They’re not bad, but yours are probably superior until they absorb a lot of our magic..”

  
  


When the expected question came, he smiled. “Wands, you see, adapt to their users, a wand you purchased at eleven could be an even better fit at twenty with years of constant use. The novice told us that as we use the wands, they would become better and better as they tasted our magic.” 

Senas  hesitated for a moment. “We probably won’t be able to cast really delicate spells for a few years, but that works out anyway.” 

Dinner rolled on, and they introduced themselves to various students, and mentioned that for the moment they would be following the first years to the magic classes, reading the History text on their own time, and probably skipping potions for now. “My sister here is a healer’s apprentice, so her plan is to study on her own for a time and then test into the most appropriate class. Me? I’m dangerous around anything flammable. It’s for everyone’s safety that I not spend time in the potions lab.”

  
  


Sadly he wasn’t believed at first until Dali began snickering. “No, it’s really true. Whenever my brother gets twitchy, or sometimes bored, little things start to smolder and catch flame. I’ve nearly set _him_ on fire once or twice in the past when he ruined a delicate potion I was working on. Even if you have the safest potion lab in the world, I still wouldn’t let him inside. Sen is very much a creature of action, one that has to be doing something, not sitting at a table counting stirs. I’m betting he’s going to do well in Charms and Defense, but I’m not sure about Transfiguration. Anything that involves practical spellcasting.” 

Inside her head, Dali smiled when the students began to gripe about the lack of spellcasting in the Defense lessons. Undermining that petty bitch would not be difficult at all. _So you take your joy causing pain on a young man with no one behind him, you_ Orc! _Well, he’s our Lord now, and we know better than to let evil run rampant. You think you can scar him, that you’d never have to face judgment? Well, we’re here now. Nine drakes might not be an army, but I think we’ll manage!_

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Aurogon was highly amused as he followed the Slytherin contingent back to their dorms. The young Mr. Malfoy had apparently given a signal for the house to return together, probably to lay down the law to the new guy. This worked out well for the current plans; in addition to picking out which students would support Harry here, he had also chosen to act as a lightning rod, to bring all the attention to him while others worked in more fertile ground. In any case, the common room seemed in need of more light.  _ All the more reason to churn out a few more of those lighting orbs as soon as I figure out the local rune scripts. Ah, the little play-dragon is actually sitting on a throne-chair! Did he transfigure it himself? Time for a little intimidation play already? _

  
  


Just as Draco Malfoy was about to speak, Aurogon spoke up, asking a question of the room at large. “As you know, I’m new to this school. I’m sure most of you have areas of the common room you prefer to use, does anyone have a claim to this area of stone beyond the couches?” 

When the room was silent, not wanting to draw attention to themselves from Draco, he shrugged and walked over. He drew his new wand for a moment, looked at it silently, then slid it back into his sleeve. Instead, he held out his right hand and a weapon materialized. Pocket or ‘personal’ dimensions are marks of powerful sorcerers. Sadly his was still very limited:  a ny more than one or two items at once and he lost the ability to store them. He smiled as he saw the expressions around him as they observed his weapon, and it really was a weapon in a way their wands just  _ weren’t. _

  
  


Before the Nexus War, he’d seen a mortal adventurer carrying something very similar, she had called it the Frostscythe of Lord Ahune. He had briefly examined it and discovered it was the weapon of a minor elemental lord, but nowhere near as powerful as the ones wielded by Thunderaan or Ragnaros. After that, in his spare time he put together a replica, something to use in his mortal form that would be both magical focus and melee weapon. 

Forged of  T itansteel, and adorned with some bones of creatures he’d hunted as well as his own fangs and claws, he had empowered it with the essences of ice elementals that were causing problems and had to be taken down. Forged with magic, his weapon was a scythe attached to a slightly curved handle, an ever-present puff of frost circling the butt. He’d wrapped  the grip surface in purple leather carefully treated to handle the cold and ice that the weapon channeled. Where the five feet of handle met the blade it  he decorated it with wi th pieces bones from animals he had hunted  as well as his own shed fangs . The blade itself was three full feet of sharp, curved, and enchanted titansteel that extended just a little beyond the handle of the back. It radiated cold in its entirety, but especially from the blade and the little flurry of frost at the base.

  
  


Smiling at the various gasps, he twirled the weapon in his hands for a moment, as if he was checking it for flaws. Then, he firmly grasped the grip with his right hand, blade pointing down and gestured with the weapon to the empty space near the wall. Though a surprise the first time he used it, the way the blade glowed a frosty blue when he used the item as a focus was not unwelcome. Here, among students that had likely never even contemplated using a focus aside from their little wands, it certainly made for a surprise. As he focused, always keeping a sliver of his mind’s eye on expertly trained magic senses, he willed the magic to begin condensing water out of the air to build him a chair.

_Let’s see, I don’t really want a full Frozen Throne knockoff, there isn’t room anyway. Half again the fool boy’s chair it is!_ Though the air suddenly became bitingly cold as he worked, and the flurry of snow that whipped from around the room to join the growing construction nipped, this was a school built in Scotland. Since the castle itself wasn’t kept especially warm students weren’t overly bothered by the sudden drop in temperature. His casting took several moments, but when he was done a chair reminiscent of a throne stood, trails of cold mist seeping off it. It was rough, but would be a serviceable chair until it melted. He could always use magic to keep it around, but he’d save that for when he got one he really liked.

  
  


Humming an upbeat tune he spun the scythe in his hand as he walked to _his_ throne. As he sat down, he decided next time he would get some pillows before sitting. Next to the chair, he rested just the very tip of the scythe on the stone and conjured just enough ice to keep the weapon upright. His little throne dominated the entirety of the room, and he smiled as he looked out at the impressed and envious faces around him. _Well, hopefully they aren’t envious of the actual chair, it’s not all that comfortable yet. Just a first try._

“ Sorry about the chill everyone, but I assumed that we all knew some magic to keep warm, what with us about to face winter in Scotland. Perhaps those who know would be willing to teach those who don’t?” It was really interesting watching the faces that were planning to intimidate him sour in the light of a little show of magic. Several of those watching looked between him and Draco, seeing the power play for what it was.  S till, no one moved.

  
  


“ I don’t know who you think you are...” Draco eventually exploded with an ugly expression on his face before Aurogon interrupted him.

  
  


“ I am Aurogon Salonar. Student of Magic, attender of Hogwarts, and now member of Slytherin House. In the circles I’ve run in previously, it was tradition to tell those you met about your accomplishments on the first meeting. (A complete lie, the only people who tended to brag about what they’d done or who they’d killed back home were drunks and has-beens, but it would serve to knock down Draco a peg or two.) I’m not even sure who you are, because you have thus far failed to introduce yourself. Should I inform your family that you require additional etiquette lessons?” This was amusing to much of the house, as the strange teen had already turned around Draco’s famous line “Just wait until my father hears about this!”

  
  


After a moment’s spluttering, Draco got his arrogance back and sneered as he spoke, one throne to another. “I am Draco Malfoy, heir to my House and the House Black.”

  
  


“ Pleased to meet you Draco.” Aurogon responded when it was apparent Draco would not continue in the way he suggested. “Perhaps you didn’t understand the suggestion I offered about naming some of your accomplishments? Among other uses it gives others an idea of how much respect to give an individual. Would you like me to go first so you can grasp the concept?”

  
  


“ I am the heir Malfoy and Black. When I turn seventeen I will be the Head of the Oldest and purest family in Britain! I am the rival of Harry Potter!”

  
  


After giving him a chance to continue, Aurogon spoke again, beginning in a very bored, sarcastic tone, before picking up into a solid, unyielding tone. “Very impressive Draco. You’ve accomplished being born and living for thirteen years without getting yourself killed. I am Aurogon, I forged this weapon. I have hunted the dark things that prey on humans in the night. I have _slain Dragons!_ My foes have fled before me!” 

He swept his eyes over the students for a moment, remembering the monsters he’d destroyed in his years, and allowing his face to show the emotions they conjured.

  
  


“ You lie!” The little joke of a dragon countered. “No student can slay a dragon!  W hat, did you have friends hold it down for you?”

  
  


At that, Aurogon reached and brought his weapon up with a very audible sound of shattering ice. As the students tensed, expecting a fight to immediately break out (and some most certainly not rooting for Draco) Aurogon turned the blade to show off the fangs along the curved blade. 

“I have slain dragons. You see these teeth? If anyone knows a spell that can identify the creature they came from, you are free to use it. If you attempt to destroy my weapon however, I will be  _ most _ displeased.” After a moment, Daphne Greengrass stepped forward and announced she had several spells that would reveal what kind of creature the fangs came from. As she stepped forward, Aurogon stood and again froze the weapon to the ground. 

When Daphne approached, he addressed her at a normal volume. “Please cast your spell on the pointed fangs, the bones behind them are from a different animal and probably less impressive than a dragon.”

As the heiress worked her magic, the first spell failed. Not perturbed, she spoke as she got ready for the next one. “I expected that to fail, it means the various parts are now one whole, like a completed potion isn’t simply its ingredients anymore. Here we go.” 

With that, she flicked her wand again, and a ghostly white image swelled into being. It started small, and people could easily see that it was a four legged dragon. Then it swelled larger as the spell completed until the barrel of the chest was sticking out of the ceiling. Silence reigned.

  
  


_ Odd that the spell showed me as I will be rather than as I am or was. If it’s accurate at least I’ll look good as a wyrm.  _ “ Hmm, it didn’t seem that big when I last saw it. Oh well, the old battle-rush, or adrenaline high can distort your perceptions. Would you care to use your spell again on the bones Miss Greengrass?” Aurogon said as the white shape faded from sight. She did, and this time the creature remained within the confines of the room, though it coiled around much of it. It was revealed as a worm creature, too wide and flat to be a snake. It had spikes at intervals along the sides and rear-facing spines along its back. The creature had no eyes.

  
  


One of the older students who had been studying magical creatures for years stepped forward, gazing at it in interest. He spoke, gaining the attention of the other students too horrified to look away. “What is it? I’ve never seen anything like it in our textbooks. It looks like it lives under the earth, or at least that would be my guess with the lack of eyes.”

  
  


“ The only name I know is what the locals called them: Jormungar. They’re more dangerous than they look too, what with the acid spit and the highly corrosive blood. They’re tunnelers, as you might have guessed, and spend most of their lives underground. Permafrost and ice is where they lurk, waiting to ambush anything that walks the surface. Thankfully, I think warm climates either repel or kill them, or else they’d be  _ everywhere. _ ” He didn’t even have to fake the shudder that ran through him at the thought of these creatures crawling under the surface everywhere. 

“I’m glad they’re cannibals, or else their numbers could be truly worrying. As it is, wiping them all out would be the best solution but it is sadly an unworkable one. When they start to swarm all you can really do is kill the ones causing trouble then eliminate the matriarch laying the eggs if you can find her tunnel. That’s always a terrifying hunt to be sure, not just the creatures themselves, but the tunnels they carve with their acid aren’t always the most stable.” The illusion of the worm faded and all present felt better without having to look at it. Even Aurogon preferred to have it gone, hunting those worms wasn’t a fun memory.

  
  


A rather impressive sneer on his face, Draco stood up and began stalking forward while drawing his wand. “So you’re some kind of creature hunter huh? You expect us to believe that you’re a real bad-ass? No way someone that’s still a student is powerful to kill those creatures! You’re nothing but a fake!”

  
  


Aurogon simply smiled as he stood next to his scythe. This would be the hard part, not the combat, but restraining the instincts he’d developed through years of war. The drake in disguise certainly didn’t want to kill the spoiled child, not right now anyway. As Draco cast a rather nasty crippling hex at Aurogon, his left hand waved and a shield appeared around him. In his right he cupped a small ball of what appeared to be frost. He allowed Draco two more casts against his shield, surprised at how much damage the last one actually registered, ( _ A spell to break shields? Interesting… _ ) before he threw the ball of frost at his opponent. It was a spell neither simple nor deadly, and one of the many Senegos thought he should learn. For a  d rake it was rather more draining than most of the others he used however. Draco Malfoy was left standing in the middle of the common room encased in a large slab of ice, made eerie by the white mist rolling off it.

  
  


“ Draco, Draco… While I have only a few accomplishments under my belt that belong solely to me and not my lineage, I am not unskilled.” A few of the boy’s supporters were training their wands on him, but quailed under the look Aurogon gave them. He stepped forward and tapped his finger on the ice. 

“I doubt you’ll understand this at first, but your school has a rather large library. I am here to learn control over my spells. Power I have, but not nearly enough to expect it to carry me through life. That said,” And while the room was already listening very carefully already, he raised his voice a bit to ensure no one missed his words. “between users of magic, there’s an unspoken rule, that a certain decorum is required. Good manners prevent violence from breaking out, and make life more pleasant in general. All I ask is that you follow the lessons your parents taught, and be polite to others. It really is not a difficult thing, and the benefits are more than you might expect.

  
  


“ Now, I expect the Professor that’s been lurking outside the entrance is about to make his dramatic entry.” With that, he strode purposefully over to his frozen throne running a few fingers along the scythe as it disappeared along with the ice holding it to the floor. Aurogon had time to sit, cross his legs and adopt a bored expression as he waited for the door to open. To the room at large, he asked a question he was curious about. 

“Does anyone know how to modify a howler to speak at a normal volume? Or have the material they’d be willing to sell? While I find Draco rather nonthreatening,” He waved nonchalantly at the block of ice. “I’m not so much a fool to needlessly make enemies. A few words to his father should clear things up quickly. Oh, and be aware that he can see what is in front of him right now, but his hearing isn’t great. Before I learned that spell my old tutor used it on me twice so I’d appreciate it properly. Certainly not the most enjoyable lesson I had.”

  
  


At that point the doors to the common room slammed and their Head of House stormed in, robes and cloak billowing out behind him. “What the hell is going on in here?”

  
  


Deciding to go for broke, Aurogon pulled a metal cup out of his cloak, drew his wand and filled it with water formed from magic. He certainly didn’t need any ice in his drink while he was sitting on this chair. Taking a sip, he looked over to the very irate Professor. “Greetings Professor. I’m just enjoying the scenery of my first night in the castle. How are you this evening?” 

He allowed the irate Professor’s face to redden until the man was about to respond before continuing. “I hope it isn’t against the rules to conjure furniture, but it seemed most of the other places were taken. I certainly didn’t want to steal someone’s seat. This will be gone by morning I believe anyway, not completely sure how much magic I put into it, but then again that’s why I’m in school.”

  
  


Regaining his balance, the Professor stomped forward and examined Draco.  (O n ice! ) With the mightiest sneer he could muster he drew his wand and turned on Aurogon, rage clearly visible on his face. “You’ve killed the Malfoy heir! Not only will you be expelled but you’ll be spending the rest of your days in Azkaban for this!”

  
  


“ He’s still alive Professor. If you look closely, his eyes will track movement, corpses usually d o not do  that. He’s trapped in a stasis spell, a rather powerful one at that. He’ll be free in time for breakfast tomorrow, though I’m sure a hot shower would be a good idea beforehand. There are ways to break him out early of course, but unless one is very skilled at the magic involved, it is very easy to damage the individual. You see, the ice is so resilient that anything that can shatter it also tends to… Well I’m sure you can guess. The magic, you see, isn’t simply an external effect as if it were he’d have suffocated already.” Those close, including the Professor could see teen’s eyes widen within the ice, proving he was alive and aware. 

When Snape again built himself up to explode, the drake interrupted him just before he spoke once more, seemingly focused on his glass of water. “One of the other new students has a good deal of healer training, including the specific technique for removing lingering effects of this stasis spell. I was going to ask Dali to ensure Mr. Malfoy to be in perfect health during breakfast. While not one to brag, she is skilled in her chosen art.”

  
  


“ Lingering effects? So you want to remove all the evidence of your assault on Mr. Malfoy? You dare think you will escape punishment for this attack?” Again the drake chuckled.

  
  


“Professor, the fool attacked me. I’d be happy to submit a memory for viewing if you wish.” Aurogon dropped his smile at that point as he felt a mental intrusion against his shields. Not particularly happy at this, he allowed his outer shields to buckle briefly and then snapped them back closed as soon as the mental probe entered. _His_ mental plane was ready for this conflict. Feeling rather vindictive, he also punctured a blood vessel in his nose with a tiny burst of magic, to leave no doubt in the student’s minds of what was happening at that moment.

  
  


A mental representation of Severus Snape appeared in the mindscape, and beheld the recreation of the Coldarra in all it’s glory with some shock. It was a depression, a caldera covered in ice and snow. Large rings floated above the center with great bolts of energy flickering between them, some of them holding gardens of unknown plants, and a dozen blue floating platforms hung in the air. The center was some kind of structure made of dark blue stone accentuated with great s pikes of ice. Severus was experienced in entering the minds of others and taking what he wanted, so he moved towards the central structure without delay. Time moved differently within the mind, but it was still best to hurry; a mindscape this developed might well have defenses. Oddly, the sparse trees he walked by groaned at his passing, and the snow he stalked through seemed to swirl in his wake.

  
  


Snape found the structure to be sunken into the ground, and as he entered he found a level that went down under the ground and another that led upward, and probably contained some access to the floating stone rings and gardens above. However, the Professor decided that the strange structures above were likely a diversion and went down instead. He found a long corridor, lit by surges of energy in a channel on either side. 

Shortly he reached a crossroad, paths to either side and one going straight ahead. Going forward, he found a figure encased in opaque ice, with four statues of rearing dragons breathing frost onto the trapped figure. Orbs of some sort that might have been controls existed, but he was unable to manipulate them due to a barrier. Snorting, Severus followed the pathway that continued past the frozen figure, and soon found himself on a walkway through a massive space, a cavern of some kind. 

Off to his right he could see something sparking on a platform, but the angles of the pathways denied him a view of it until he reached the source. Snorting aloud, he began moving towards what he guessed was the focal point.  _ Arrogant fool, it’s not a bad mindscape, but it's woefully incomplete. Only an idiot would build all this, and in such detail it's like a memory of a place instead of a fabrication, and forget to add guardians.  _

Moving forward, he eventually reached the source of the odd sparking, and after climbing a ramp, found it to be a figure wreathed in glowing energy. It bore long claws, a head barely reaching above the shoulders with no discernible features within the bright white energy that flickered, and at its waist, it simply had some kind of stalk that reached to the ground. It was completely inert, until Severus approached to examine it.

  
  


“ You… Do not belong. You… Will be Obliterated. Chaos… Beckons.” With that, the creature surged towards the Professor just as every ward to prevent  magical  travel known to wizards sprang up around them. (Also several known to Dragons and the Draenei.) Snape began backpedaling, when he looked behind him and saw the path he had taken here fall into the abyss, and a great groaning of stone that he guessed meant the other paths no longer gave an easy escape. Behind him, the monster pursued as he made it to  a second platform. 

Snape  began firing spells from the wand he needed even in his mind  at his pursuer . Oddly, nothing worked. It occurred to him that the mind he was in had grasped the structure for a creature not  made of flesh. Turning to flee he jumped off the platform to a path below and cast a charm to soften his landing. Suddenly he realized that this place wasn’t lacking in guardians, but that they’d been hiding thus far, because now they were everywhere. Some kind of little walking ice-plants were streaming out of the door behind him, and creatures clad in armor and blue scales were surging from hidden passageways.

  
  


There was a rather large force coming from behind him, so he dealt with the first wave of plant things with strong fire and started firing spells at scaled things. Every one of his spells slid off the barriers. In a fit of desperation, he switched to the Killing Curse, which did pierce the shields only to be absorbed by the armor. _Now that’s interesting, this fool might know some method of fighting the curse. It is an impressive defense, I’ll give him that, but those guardians seem impervious to magic and I’m not skilled enough at transfiguration to rely on it. Time to abandon this, at least I’ll know a little more about the fool._ Unfortunately for Severus Snape, the mental probe, in which he had invested most of his conscious mind, was unable to flee. With the part of his mind that remained in his body, he felt something that truly startled him. His _own_ mind was under a counter-assault! Also, at this point the guardians had converged on him.

  
  


While they wielded bladed weapons for the most part (Even the spell casters held a knife or had sharp bits on their staves.) Severus was only struck, again and again, with blunt edges and butts of the weapons. All the while, he could distantly feel something hammering away at his defenses. Soon, any chance of concentration was lost by the amount of physical pain he was under, which felt very, very real. After a time, when he was broken and bloodied, but carefully not killed he noted, one of the enormous lizard things picked him up over its shoulder like a sack of grain. He could barely see anything until he was laid out in the snow, incidentally in the exact place Snape had entered the mind. As he lay in the  freezing snow, a blade of very cold steel touched his throat. A larger individual of the lizard-things was now standing over him peering down with a sneer.

  
  


“ You are not welcome here. You will give your word never to enter this mind again or your life will end here. There is enough power in this place to end you!”

  
  


Angry and beaten, Snape swore aloud to never enter this mind again (It was not a magically binding oath, but it wasn’t like Severus had any intention of coming back soon anyway.) not knowing the Aurogon had carefully allowed the Professor’s mind to link up with his body, so the words were said aloud in the real world. As soon as the words were spoken, Severus was forcibly ejected and found himself in the real world once more. 

The force of the ejection had slammed him into the currently iced member of the Malfoy clan, and he was shocked to realize how much of his mental injuries had carried over. While the broken bones hadn’t carried over, most of the bruising, along with the black eyes and nosebleed had. As he looked over to the new student, sitting there on a chair of ice, he saw the teen hadn’t come out of this clean either, and was sporting a bloody nose that had stained the front of his robes. Climbing slowly to his feet, he trained his wand on the blue-haired young man. “You will pay for this! I will see you in Azkaban for this outrage!”

  
  


No longer wearing the smirk from earlier, the young man rested there with an angry look on his face. “Defending myself is a rather far cry from assaulting a teacher, _Sir._ I find myself rather shocked at your behavior. No wonder Mr Malfoy could not maintain even a thin veneer of civility if he has you as a role model! I wonder what other harm you’ve caused these students over the years! If you force yourself on their minds like you did mine? If you’ve done _worse!_

“I will warn you this one time,  _ Professor _ , the next intrusion into my mind will receive lethal countermeasures. And I  _ will  _ be handing out the instructions for those as far and wide as I can! Everyone deserves a mind that is their own! Now, are you going to duel an injured teenager or flee? I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, beyond putting you into a block of ice.” At that, Aurogon rose to his feet and pulled his hand back as if to throw the ball of frost within at the Professor. The drake made no further aggressive motions, however. After a moment of looking at the unknown magic, Severus Snape stormed out of the room in a billow of his cloak.

  
  


There was silence for a moment, until the drake, intentionally a little shaky on his feet began walking towards the door. “I’m sorry to leave my new house already, but I suddenly find myself in need of a healer. I beg your attention for two small points. First, Mr. Malfoy is in absolutely no danger from the stasis spell, but there are ways to layer magic on top of the original spell so that he dies. Perhaps he would be grateful if someone kept an eye on him overnight? Just to prevent any ‘accidents’ from an angry Professor wanting me gone or revenge from some slight against a fellow student? 

“Secondly, this sickens me to say, and I’m sorry that I would ask you to spread this to friends or family in other houses, but girls? You really need to get checked for obliviations and mental effects. I didn’t exactly get a lot out of his mind when I fought back, but what I saw sickened me. Assaults are easily covered up with magic. I hope to be back among you tomorrow, but I’m not a fool either.”

  
  


With that, the young drake walked out of the room, tossing a bit of fire from his hand onto the ice throne he had bled on. Reaching into a pocket as he cast an invisibility spell on himself he tapped a speak-stone twice. Thanks to Harry, he knew enough to reach Gryffindor Tower easily enough, even dropping into an out of the way alcove to hand a package to Dobby. The Blue Dragonflight didn’t use  pensieves as such, but they still maintained vast archives of important events in the form of the memories of those that lived them. A small bauble, a large marble to most eyes, held the memory of this encounter and would project the events in full color if enough magic was applied to it. Instructions were included with the object.

Eventually he reached the portrait guardian for the lion’s House and doubled back a moment, before coming back around the corner visible. Looking at the portrait that asked him for a password, he looked around a moment. Eventually he asked a rather obvious question. “Miss, where does one knock on this door? I need to get the attention of those inside.” 

When the portrait shrugged he sighed and motioned her to the side and simply raised his fist and banged on the canvas. _They really should have included an easier way to knock if they didn’t want the canvas damaged._ After a moment, an unfamiliar teenager poked their head out, not opening the door more than a sliver. 

“Yes, I know it’s near curfew, but I find myself in need of a healer. Would you mind letting Dali know Aurogon is here?” He wavered a little at that point. It was actual blood he’d been bleeding so far after all, and it had yet to stop.  _ In hindsight, I may have broken a slightly larger blood vessel than I intended.  _ “ Also, if a prefect could fetch your Head of House, I need to speak with her.”

  
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.   
  
  
  


AN: Yes, Aurogos is hamming it up a bit, but he knows enough about Snape to dislike him. As a Blue dragon, he has _opinions_ regarding magic and its instructors. Potions is kind of a minor discipline from his point of view, but not teaching magic well is almost heresy to him. Umbridge is lucky he hasn’t sat through her class yet. All nine of them want a piece of her hide for what she’s done to Harry, this story takes place after the first round of Blood Quill detentions, without adding on the whole ‘not teaching magic’ thing to piss off their main magic user. And the drakes will not tolerate a single additional torture session if they need to burn the High Inquisitor to ash in the Great Hall. They’re not bloodthirsty, but they know that some people are better off dead than alive. The deaths of Voldemort, his inner circle, and at least a few folks in the Ministry would drastically improve the landscape.

  
  


Aurogos isn’t lying, but he is presenting the incomplete picture he’s learned about Severus Snape in what seems to be the appropriate light. Snape _was_ a Death Eater, and it took accidentally sicking Voldemort onto Lily for him to change his tune. In the mental battle, the drake didn’t get a complete picture, but he got enough to decide that this man should not be allowed anywhere _near_ children.

Next chapter hopefully moves the plot forward a bit.

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9: Shatter

I own neither Harry Potter or Warcraft, they might be fun places to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Chapter 9: Shatter

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

  
  


Life in the Gryffindor common room was lively that night. Everyone wanted to meet the two new students, and for their part the new students were proving to be rather friendly. They seemed to be normal siblings, though the brother was proving to be a little more protective than might be expected. When Ginny Weasley mentioned how she could relate to overprotective brothers, Dali had said she didn’t begrudge Senas protecting her. In a small voice that was still clear she said that they’d lost the rest of their family and both missed them dearly. Thankfully, the room at large had the good sense, for once, to change the topic at that point.

  
  


After coming up to the new people and introducing themselves with handshakes, Harry, Hermione and Ron retreated to a table in a corner of the common room and threw up privacy barriers. As they worked on their various homework, Harry pulled out the Marauder’s Map and looked at the other common rooms. Ron raised an eyebrow at the dot labeled “Aurogos” but it was close enough to the given name he didn’t worry about it. He did look up the Gryffindor common room, and saw the true names of the others but just found it a little odd they didn’t have last names on the map. In any case, the names they were going by were easier to say and a little less strange, so it didn’t really bother him any. They took turns watching the map that evening, Harry refused to say what he was looking for, just that he was worried.

  
  


A few glances at the Hufflepuff common room showed ‘Ralion’ walking around from dot to dot, presumably doing the same thing the new Gryffindors were doing, shaking hands and introducing themselves. Things in Slytherin looked much more tense, and he saw that Harry was often looking towards it. Ron had no desire to be in the new guy’s shoes just then, it looked like he was standing in front of Malfoy while the rest of the room sat around and listened to him speak for a rather long time. At one point Daphne came up for a moment, and Ron was briefly distracted by thoughts of of her figure before the Malfoy dot moved towards the new guy, both dots quivered as if they might have been dodging spells, and then Malfoy’s dot stopped moving.

Soon after, the Snape dot that had been just outside stormed in, circled Malfoy and stamped towards the new guy. He wasn’t sure what happened after that, but Snape was knocked back by something and then left the room soon after. So did the new guy, but he was moving slowly, like he was injured. His dot wavered a little and got harder to read as it moved through the corridors and they lost it. Looking over, he could see his best mate was tense, like he would be if a friend was in danger.

Harry must have thought the new guy would be okay, otherwise he would probably be out looking for him, friend or not. Inside the privacy barriers the three didn’t hear the banging at the door, but they did notice the students shifting with a little panic and moved where they could hear. That’s when they saw Aurogon being helped inside by a prefect and Dali rushing over to him. She caused no few whispers when she held glowing hands to his face (exclamations of “Wandless magic!” rang through the room) as she checked him.

Harry got close enough to hear what was being said over the crowd as Dali shouted in a loud tone. “I need to get him laying down, his nose isn’t clotting. Sen, get the trunk out.”

With hands that fumbled just a little, Senas pulled a trunk from his pocket and tapped it with his wand to bring it up to full size. Inside, the whole house got a view of a ladder going down into what now looked to be a small apartment, complete with several beds, small dining area and food storage, and a full bathroom. Dali jumped down, landing in a crouch and quickly moved to a cabinet that turned out to contain a number of potion vials. Senas supervised an upper year floating the still bleeding teen onto one of the beds, though his perception of space was a bit off due to the expansion charm.

When Harry stepped up, clearly worried, Senas tried to calm him with a hand gesture and told the room at large: “He’ll be fine, Dali’s healed a lot worse. We just need to be careful, because of the place we all grew up, some potions have their effects skewed. A healing potion might kill us, and other ingredients that would harm you can help us. We only have a small stash with us though.”

The room of students waited while Dali gave Aurogon a small crimson vial before pressing glowing hand to the front of his face for several moments. When she stopped soon after and checked his vitals everyone held their breath until the motherly red-head gave a smile to the group and started coming up the stairs.

As Senas gave her a hand out of the trunk, she addressed the room that was obviously waiting for her to speak. “He’ll be fine with a good night’s sleep. Did someone go looking for Professor McGonagall yet? Good, he needs to speak with her. He said he was attacked, but didn’t say who yet. He’s a bit shaken up right now, but said something about a tussle with Draco, does anyone know who that is?”

There was a rather large amount of positive replies so she continued. “Apparently after they resolved their little spat, someone else came in and this happened. I want him to rest until the Professor gets here, but you should all know that this wasn’t a physical or direct magical assault, someone attacked his mind. He also wanted me to tell you that all the girls, especially in this house, should get checked for mental effects.”

The sound level in the room rose sharply until she had to shout to be heard. “I don’t know any spells that tell you if your mind has been altered, do any of you?”

In hindsight, it was almost funny the way the entire house above the first years turned to look at Hermione Granger. She blushed at the attention before she spoke. “Umm, I may have seen it in a book recently...”

When Harry nodded after she glanced to him, both knowing which book, she became more sure. “Um, I’ll be right back down with it, just a moment.” She had been pouring over the book Sirius sent them since it had been so helpful with establishing their mental defenses, and inside was a spell that would be useful now.

Only a few moments after she left, she returned carrying a large tome. Ron, along with everyone else saw the title was “Defense of the Mind,” and when someone asked why she even had a book like that, she replied: “I recently found out what someone who’s studied the mind arts can do to people that haven’t learned to defend themselves. It’s still a little terrifying even now that I can defend myself a little. Okay, here, this is the chapter that has the spell I was looking for. It’s not real easy, so anyone who does this practice a few times at a wall or something first. Who’s first?”

And just like that, people started getting checked. Harry gazed at the page for a moment before he drew the wand in the air until he was confident he had it right. Several students came up negative, until Lavender Brown came up glowing a light shade of pink. Hermione took a careful look at the page for a moment. Looking into the scared eyes of her dorm-mate, she tried and mostly failed to sound reassuring. “Love potion, but not a terribly strong one, either something to make you flirt with somebody or the first stage of a slow method of binding you as a, well, sex slave. Parvati and I will keep an eye on you if you want, and I’ll brew the general purging potion as soon as I can get the ingredients. I heard its a really awful experience to take it, but its better than...”

Lavender broke into tears at that point, Hermione patting her on the shoulder before looking at Parvati. The Indian teen gave her friend a hug then briefly stepped back and nodded to Hermione. She came up turquoise.

Grimacing, Hermione turned back to the book for a moment before sharing her findings. “Obliviation. I think that shade means it was about an hour, maybe two at the most. I hate to ask, but did you ever spend any time alone with Professor Lockheart?”

When Parvati said no, but her best friend said yes, Hermione grimaced. “During the end of our second year while I was petrified, Harry found out Professor Lockheart was a fraud who was really only good with the obliviation charm. Um, you might want to talk to a healer you trust if you want to find out more.”

Here, Dali spoke up. “I’d add that if you’ve seen a healer that knows or should have known that a Professor like that was in this school and didn’t at least check you with this spell or one like it, that you find a different one. A Professor doing this to students would be a major embarrassment, and I think you all know how people like to shut those up. Please be careful who you see. I’m a pretty good healer, but I’m not well-practiced with the mind. I certainly wasn’t expecting this when I came to this country. Is anyone else ready to cast the spell? Stand near the book please.”

As the night wore on, several muggleborn students were found to have obliviations, but in the Fifth year students there were a number of loyalty compulsions. Eventually someone suggested that Hermione get checked, and a lot of people jumped when she almost snarled that she didn’t need a mind healer.

The Weasley twins, who had come up positive for a trust-me potion, shared a look and asked Harry if they could check him, and got the same response with more snarl. When they looked at Ron, and he said the same thing, in almost the exact same tones, rage began to flame in their hearts. They genuinely liked Hermione, Prefect or not, Harry was almost family, and Ron was their little brother! With a shared look, two wands tagged three teens.

Hermione came up black with a hint of very dark green, Harry came up in a rainbow, and Ron glowed white and green. With hands shaking in rage, Fred handed his brother the book and both looked at the descriptions of the spell readouts.

With a voice shaking in emotion, George looked up at Hermione. “I’m sorry, but you’ve been obliviated, more than once and the color indicates that it was something very important. I have no idea what the black means, it isn’t listed. Harry,” and here he choked a little. “you’ve got almost one of everything. Obliviation more than once, a medium love potion, a trust-me potion, compulsions, behavior modification, maybe something to do with your magic, and the last just says ‘Soul Magic.’ Ron, you’ve got Obliviations same as Harry, either a bunch of times or something really important, and you’ve been hit really hard with a trust-me.”

With that said, Fred cast at their little sister. She glowed a light red and green. “Ginny, obliviations and a possession with some lingering effects.” With an apologetic expression on his face, George handed Fred the book and cast the spell at both the new arrivals. Their result was identical, crimson with yellow surrounding it. “You both read as an active possession, but the yellow indicates a positive effect of some kind, mind telling us?”

As she tended to be a better speaker, Dali spoke for both siblings. “The yellow is an outside influence that actively suppresses the possession and protects us from it. Please, please don’t let this become common knowledge as it is dangerous for us, but we’re under the effect of an old Oath Ritual. I don’t know how they’re viewed in this land, but back home, they’d been forgotten centuries ago, and it was very lucky that we found someone familiar with it when it was needed.”

Looking around at the various students, she tried to impart the seriousness of the situation to them. “Some similar rituals can be very dark, but this one’s name translates best as ‘A Vassal’s Oath to a Loyal Lord.’ It requires trust, but with some luck,” She looked Harry right in the eye and she said the next sentence before moving her gaze. “one can find a man who’s presence is a balm to the soul, and keeps you safe from dark things.”

To give just a hint of deception, she looked down at the trunk on the ground. “I haven’t found any faults with my Lord yet, in fact in him I see greatness nearly ready to bloom forth. You don’t understand. Think of it like this: Everyone serves something. People serve the Ministry, those at the top serve their own ambitions, children obey their parents. I and my brother are blessed in that the one we serve is bound to us as we are to him. I looked over the old scroll the oath was in after we’d already sworn it, and there was the story of it’s creation. The scroll itself is a magical artifact that’s repaired itself recently.

“To make a long story much shorter: The creator was a powerful magical that left his home to make a difference in the world and found a land where different peoples fought endlessly. He created this oath to bring them together under a leader who _could not_ betray them. In time, he founded a kingdom, and his people loved him for his fairness and humility. He eventually died, and the people spread out to the four winds, determined to bring all the world together in peace. The scroll was created by one of the magical’s daughters, it’s signed a few years before the war she likely died in.”

It was truly a shame the War of the Ancients had destroyed all other mention of the Highbourne who created the oath. The physical location of the kingdom was now somewhere under the ocean east of the Plaugelands, the land did not survive the Sundering. Later, after digging through several archives, Dali would find that all mentions of the mage’s line ended in the War of the Ancients, and the author of the scroll in the battle where Neltharion turned on the other Aspects. All of his children refused to let others suffer, refused to let evil triumph without a fight. It seemed none of them survived their stand.

At that point, Ginny asked her a question that was going through a lot of heads. “So you’re a slave? What does that have to do with the story about that ancient king then?”

“I much prefer life as a slave to a good man to freedom as monster. And the history was important because for some magics and magical items, the who and why of their crafting forever shape their uses. Think of it like an echo: If you put your heart and soul into something, that shapes it. If a man forges a magical sword to kill someone he’s jealous of, the blade will tend towards dark deeds. If a different man forges a magical sword to protect his loved ones, the blade will remain a just weapon unless it is tarnished. In both cases the smith leaves a little of himself behind, but I would only let my brother use one of them. Does that make sense?”

Dali smiled when she saw understanding on their faces. “We might as well check everyone in the House for mental effects. Sen, please shrink the trunk and keep it near you until morning okay? I’m going to watch over Aurogon for the night, it seems like we’re not getting McGonagall after all. I guess the staff have more important matters to worry about than a student being assaulted.”

With that, she slipped over to Misses Patil and Brown and waved over Ginny. She spoke in a whisper for a moment. “I think I can get a mind-healer into the castle, if we can keep her hidden from the staff. You three she can help easily, but the others...” Here she motioned to the ‘golden’ trio of friends still looking a bit shell-shocked.

“Well, that is much less easy to sort out. She’ll do all she can, but she can’t be seen. You’ll know why if you see her. Chin up girls! We’ll get your minds clean and then everyone else.” Glad to see determination bloom on their faces, she gave them a soft smile and then returned to the trunk, using the ladder this time.

Tapping his wand to a rune on the exterior of the trunk, Senas quickly placed the entire thing into a pocket in his robe’s inner lining. As it turns out, the skills of a Marauder are both varied and useful, and Sirius had been a little bored during the wand making. So he worked on the trunks instead of watching a tree grow. (Granted, it was growing faster than a tree had any right to, and growing in interesting ways, but it still wasn’t terribly exciting.) By now, most people had been checked, finding a slew of obliviations and a disturbing number of compulsions. Senas cleared his throat to draw attention.

“I know I’m new, but I have to ask for help tonight. Is there anyone skilled with a wand willing to stand guard with me for the night? I think I’m sleeping in the fifth year dorm.” With that, people started drifting to sleep, a series of alarm spells set on the common room entrance and both stairways. Harry Potter, Ron, Fred and George Weasley, and their friend Lee Jordan all climbed into the room, and they kept watch in turns. Neville kept them company late into the night as well.

Eventually, the student sent to fetch McGonagall returned, the Professor never did answer her door. The seventh year Prefect was surprised to find three wands, including one that very much looked like a dagger in his face before he reached the stairs. However, in light of the circumstances, he trudged off to sleep without complaints.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Finding a bit of time during the night, Harry used his mirror to call Sirius. His godfather was incensed, furious at the Headmaster. He was also deeply concerned when Harry reported that he was upset that his friends were affected, but no matter how he thought about it, wasn’t concerned at all about what had been done to him. In the end, Sirius just gave the best advice he could.

“Harry, I wish we could just call the Aurors. But so many of them have been Hogwarts students that if Albus has done to them what he has to you, it would get ugly and we’d lose. I’ll tip off some journalists, try to bring as much attention to this as I can. Remus would tell you not to lose your temper, to stay calm. Bugger that! Stay angry, don’t be stupid if you can help it but let your emotions go. If there’s a battle tomorrow, be angry! If you can’t be angry for yourself, be angry for your friends, for everyone that’s suffered under the Headmaster!

“Albus betrayed you, he betrayed the trust of your friends, he betrayed the wishes of your parents to see you happy and healthy. Harry, I… I know what a home life like yours feels like, before Dorea and Charlus took me in I had the same. Harry, no matter what happens tomorrow, know that I’ll be behind you. I won’t ask you to stay safe, but stay alive and trust your friends.”

With that, Harry went to get what sleep he could thanks to another Dreamless Sleep potion. Sirius, back in the family home he’d always hated started to make what plans he could to support his godson. And if that included illegal, international portkeys to Black Island for Harry, his friends, and his dragons? Well a back-up plan never hurt.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Somehow, everyone got the minimum of sleep they needed to function the next day, though getting out of bed the next morning was something of a chore. An amusing exchange took place as Dali attempted to make use of the dorm’s shower and bathroom. Seamus had attempted to block her entry until she let loose with an impressive growl and he backed up, intimidated. Dali countered his objections by saying that she was a healer, and if there was anything in there she hadn’t seen already someone _really_ needed a healer. She also let him know that it was far too early for amorous thoughts when the boy sputtered that she was a pervert. _After_ she had left the room Senas turned to those still climbing out of bed. “We really need to get the trunk’s bathroom working. Oh, and sorry about that, my sister has _never_ been a morning person.”

Soon after, Aurogon climbed up the ladder, looking much better, in spite of the blood stains all over him. He asked permission to use their dorm’s showers and received it along with the warning who was currently in there. “Ah, well I can wait a bit then. She is not a morning person at all.”

Several of the teens quirked eyebrows at that, the growl had certainly raised alarm already, as well as made them all hesitate to disturb her.

Aurogon went around the room for a few moments and properly introduced himself. When he reached Neville the boy chose a formal and greetings on behalf of House Longbottom. Aurogon offered a formal greeting in return. “I offer you my greetings on behalf of a Legacy whose name must remain secret, until the time is right.”

Aurogon had figured that at least one of the boys would spread rumors of anything he said here, and it was probably better to keep the Headmaster guessing. When the dragons had found out who had likely put the compulsions on their Lord and who had most definitely allowed that parasite alone to feed on him, a cold anger began to build. So they started to plan, and they found they wanted to show the world the truth of the man.

While Snape’s attack had been expected, the drake had truly done nothing to compel the man to violence. The Professor clearly had a few screws loose if his response to a simple altercation between two teens involving no serious injuries was a mental invasion. Among dragons scuffles were common, especially between adolescent males. So long as there were no serious injuries and the two were able to work together afterward no one cared.

Now, there was a sense of nervousness as the group prepared to head down. Dali had switched rooms to finish preparing for her day, time spent with the female Night Elf in their hunting group proved useful for dealing with her hair. Some of the techniques also got the attention of Hermione’s roommates, and their interest ate up a little more time until she promised to share hair techniques with the rest of the dorm that evening. In the end, in a move of solidarity, the house decided to head down together. The revelation of the mental effects washed away the tensions of the last few months; they were Gryffindors, and they would stand or fall together!

Many of the housemates were both worried and angry for those who had mental effects pop up, especially Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Even more so when the three of them admitted to not being worried about what had been done to them, even though they thought they _should_ be. Aurogon had slipped away after a shower and borrowing a clean robe, saying he had a few things to do and wanted to make a dramatic entrance. It was interesting to watch him fade from view in the common room before the door opened and closed. Little did the Lions know they weren’t the only House that was rather nervous that morning.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The night previous, Ralion had been enjoying the new group he was a part of. They were friendly and when he explained he wasn’t used to crowds he was given space, enforced by the Prefects. After a friendly conversation about the merits of Quidditch during which Ral had admitted to never having seen a game, but was looking forward to it when the season started, the speak-stone in his pocket pulsed three times, indicating an incoming call he should take in public. The teen with purple eyes surprised those he was talking to when his expression became solemn and he quickly removed a small stone from his pocket and pulsed some magic into it. That done, he set it on the table and started speaking into it. “Ral here, everyone okay?” His expression and tone he bore bringing the rest of the room to silence.

On the other end Senas was speaking somewhat softly from Gryffindor’s common room. “Aurogon was attacked. I don’t know who did it yet, Dali’s working on him. Are you safe? He should have been in his common room, he just walked into ours covered in blood.”

Feeling nervous in spite of himself, Ral answered back. “I’m in the common room, and I’m safe as far as I know.” He did look around the room a few times as he spoke however.

“Stay there until morning, you’re probably safest among the other students. But be alert: Aurogon should have been safe in his common room too, not to mention we both know he’s no slouch in a fight. We’ll see you in the morning, if things go really bad be ready to leave quickly. Safest place in Britain my ass! Wait, Dali’s coming up, I’m going to leave this on for a bit.”

From there, the Hufflepuffs listened to the entire event, until the sound cut out after the other house decided to head to bed. They had been quietly listening and turning shades of pale and green as fears began to run rampant. After Lockheart had been mentioned, one of the boys had remarked that most of the girls here had stayed after class with him at least once. Sadly most of the girls had no memories of those events at all. In the end it was Ralion that called for order when the room had broken out in hysterics.

“Everyone calm down! There’s nothing we can do tonight, we should get some sleep and talk to the Gryffindors tomorrow. Does anyone know why Gryffindor’s prefect couldn’t get in touch with McGonagall?” At that, he started to hear story after story of how useless the staff was in times of crisis.

“Okay, that isn’t what I wanted to hear just now. Well, this is supposed to be the house of the loyal, right?” When he got a mediocre response he asked again and got a much stronger response. “Then let’s act like it! We should head to the Great Hall together tomorrow and stay alert until we know what’s really going on. Everyone keep an eye on your friends, if we can’t count on the Professors we can damn well count on each other! Am I right?” And like that, a group that had been terrified moments before was reassured. And if they doubled up in the dorms that night and set some alarms on the doors, well no one could blame them.

As the group headed up for the night, Ral stopped the prefect he’d had the most contact with. “Miss Abbott, I hate to ask this of someone I barely know, but would you be willing to hide something for me until morning? I have a trunk that’s larger on the inside, and I’d prefer not to be somewhere easily found in case I’m supposed to be next.”

Under the circumstances, the girl easily agreed and Ralion found himself hidden away inside a shrunken trunk. He decided to never tell the girl there was a charm on the inside that let one see outside when it closed; as she had shrunken it before checking no one was watching and slipped it into her bra. Her dorm was more than willing to throw a pillow and a few blankets down despite Ral saying he didn’t need them.

When morning came, their entire House moved as one to the dining hall. They were the first ones there, but no one was eating anything yet, they just nervously milled around their table. Ralion was among them, wearing a glamour that made him look like a student that had graduated several years ago.

_-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-_

Lucius Malfoy was not a happy man as he stormed through the halls of Hogwarts towards the common room of his old House. Receiving a message well before dawn that his son was dead and his presence was requested at the school was not a way any parent ever wanted to wake up. That Dumbledore was blaming Draco’s death on a young man who had been a student for less than twelve hours was not sitting well either.

In the common room decorated with green and silver, the Headmaster had shown in Lucius Malfoy, explaining the death as the result of a dangerous duel by a new student they were still trying to find. Albus had even told Lucius he was sorry for the man’s loss before he left, saying the search for the student was still ongoing. Lucius was nearly apoplectic with rage as he circled what he was told was the frozen corpse of his only son. He had quickly stormed into the dorms for the seventh years and demanded to know what had happened. He actually had to use magic on the students to wake them. When they all started talking at once he shouted, almost screamed for them to talk one at a time.

The story came out: his son attempting to force the new student in line, the new student defending himself and telling them all that Draco would be fine in the morning if no one took the opportunity to off his son. The mental duel with Snape where the new student seemed to falter, blood leaking from his nose before he pushed back and defeated the older man. The new student leaving the room after Snape left to find a healer, and pleading with the students to keep an eye on Draco so one took the opportunity to settle a score or kill his son. The Headmaster entering and being told Draco would be fine when the spell wore off. The students had told him that those present, most of the fifth years and up had tried to prevent the Headmaster from casting spells at the ice, but even many against one had not proven up to dueling Dumbledore. They told him that when they last saw him, Draco could clearly both see and hear outside the ice.

Storming back down the stairs, a desperate hope in his heart he raced to his son and looked at his eyes. But the eyes didn’t follow him, and he wouldn’t respond. It was then that a student in Slytherin robes and blue hair strode into the room with purpose and walked to the ice. Seeing Lucius, but likely not recognizing him the teen, appearing angry demanded information from him. “Where are the students that were keeping watch over him? I told them someone could alter the spell if he wasn’t watched!”

“They proved less adept at dueling than the headmaster. Did you cast this spell? What is its purpose?!”

“In my experience? To keep unruly apprentices in line. I even saw it used to break up a fight that was getting too rough, the magical I trained under just froze them both and left them to stare at each other until sunset. Move aside, something doesn’t seem right here.” Suddenly, he twitched to the hallway. “Damn, I thought I’d have more time. Look out.” With that, the young man pulled a scythe, of all things, out of nowhere and gestured to the door. An enormous trail of frost snaked across the floor and when it reached the entrance, the door became encrusted in thick ice. Lucius was a bit surprised when the teen then seemed to charge his weapon with magic of some kind before throwing it, the blade embedding into the thick ice. He understood the purpose soon after as the ice glowed and seemed to reinforce itself. Then the boy began looking at the form of his son, with bright blue glowing eyes.

Lucius was about to demand answers when the teen held up two glowing hands and began running them along the ice. “Damn that fool! How hard is it to say “Well I’m not familiar with this spell, maybe I shouldn’t touch it!” He’s layered stasis charms on top of mine but there’s nothing to sustain the boy when mine runs out!”

As someone who had seen a lot of magic performed in his life, seeing the teen move glowing hands around while cursing showed him the seriousness of the situation and that time was not on their side. “That is my son, tell me how I can help.”

Not even sparing him a glance, the teen barked out: “Keep that door sealed, the old fool will be trying to get back in here and stop me, there’s an alert ward tied into the magic so he knows I’m here. Snape wants me gone and I doubt he cares about the means. The old fool’s magic is so sharp and precise, dammit! I can’t pick at it and get them off in time. Time for Plan B!”

With that, Lucius saw the teen held out his right hand, and then the Scythe ripped itself free and flew into his hand. The weapon glowed bright blue and sung with magic before the teen swung it at the ice. Lucius was pleased that the angle wouldn’t damage his son if he broke through. A horrible screeching noise broke out then, like two rough metal blades fighting for dominance. “The door!” And Lucius turned and saw that the door was nearly broken through. Trying to pick out the most obscure magics he could to keep it closed, he could only spare glances at the now very sweaty teen.

“That damned old fool is reinforcing the charms through the door! What possible reason could he have for that? But if he thinks I’m so weak...” And to Lucius’s surprise, here the teen’s voice began to grow deeper and a little raspy. “he kn **ows nothing about me!** ”

With a final push, the scythe broke whatever it was pushing against, and the teen dismissed it, collapsing against the ice, covered in sweat. Lucius looked at his son and saw his eyes moving around the room in panic and his heart rejoiced in his chest. Sadly that inattention allowed the Headmaster to come charging into the room with his wand spewing ropes at the collapsed teen, shocked when a translucent dome whipped up around him as he lay catching his breath.

Looking to his oft-opponent, he spoke thunderously. “Lucius, that is the individual that killed your son! Help me take him into custody quickly.”

Lucius wasted no time moving between the Headmaster and the student. “Stand down Albus. You foolishness almost cost me my son!”

“So the boy has you under his control? Very well, I will take you both into custody in that case.”

Much of the tension was broken when the student on the floor started to laugh. “Old Fool. Any moment now I’ll be proven right. Just wait and watch a moment.”

Soon after, the ice began to shift and crack. Deciding to not let pettiness over rule the goodwill he was building, the teen barked out a command. “Shields!” Not having any reason to ignore such a suggestion at that point, both men obeyed just as the ice exploded outwards. Draco could be heard taking a deep breath followed by coughing. In the background, Lucius could hear the other teen advising his son to take shallow breaths until his lungs felt right. Lucius was nearly ready to drop and hug his son, but the headmaster was still there with his wand trained on him.

“It would seem, Headmaster, that my son is not dead at all. Please leave us in peace and give us a moment.”

“Lucius, we need to get your son to the Infirmary immediately! Dark magic like that can have devastating effects!”

Again, the young man started to laugh. “Dark magic you idiot? I’m not the one nearly killed Draco. This was a simple waking stasis charm until you turned it into a death trap. In fact, though it would have cost me my sleep, I was going to stay here all night and watch over the boy. My furniture spells need a bit of work anyway: my last attempt proved I don’t have ‘comfort’ down yet. That was until I suffered a mental attack by a member of your staff. Why on earth do you have a man wallowing in that much hate around students? Are you completely senile or do you simply want the students to suffer?”

Dumbledore’s response was predictable if one had served on the staff for any amount of time. “Professor Snape has my full trust. And you will give him your respect.”

“So, a man tries to bludgeon his way into my mind and you expect me to respect him? I’m sorry old fool, but he only got past my outer defenses. I still know up is up and down is down. Any further attempts to get into my mind will either prove lethal or I will fight a duel and kill the perpetrator. Now, are you going to attack the three of us or are you going to let Draco warm up?”

And at that point, Lucius saw that there were indeed three wands pointed at the Headmaster, though he made a note to ask at some point about the new student’s wand. It was certainly striking if nothing else. There was pride in his heart as he saw the wand in his son’s shake a little but remain trained on the Headmaster. When Albus saw that they would not listen to him, he simply said: “We will continue this discussion later.” And stormed out of the room. Lucius was impressed with the new student as well, he was apparently running on fumes because he sagged against the stone for a moment when the Headmaster left.

After a moment’s rest though, he stood and offered a hand to Draco. “I apologize Draco. That spell isn’t exactly a barrel of fun, but its something I’ve been in for a lot longer than the ten hours you were. Trust me when I say that a shower, starting cool and slowly getting as hot as you can stand is what you need to get moving again. Your joints will also be stiff for a while unless you let my friend use the magic she practiced on me to help you out. Consider it an apology for the Headmaster nearly killing you.”

Draco did take his hand and stood, just a little shaky on his legs. When Lucius stepped forward, the blue haired teen stepped back a little but hung around. “Do you mind if I follow you to the showers? I seem to have built up a little sweat this morning. I expect another confrontation with the Headmaster, so I’d prefer to be at my best.”

Lucius gave a regal nod of his head and they stumbled to the fifth year dorms, where the other students lay sleeping in their clothes, on top of both sheets and blankets. Lucius saw the strange teen shake his head and walk down to the furthest shower, flicking his hands at the floor as he went. Lucius raised an eyebrow when another wall of ice flashed into being in the aisle, protecting the last stall.

When he was young, Draco’s mother bathed him, so it was odd for both of them as he helped his very stiff son into the shower. Pausing a moment before starting the water, Lucius spoke to his son without looking at him. “You came very close to death just now Draco. I am pleased you still breathe.” He let out a low chuckle. “Next time, allow someone else the honor of testing the newcomer.”

There really wasn’t anything else for Draco to say beyond: “Yes Father, thank you Father.” (It was, in retrospect, good advice.) The warm feeling in the boy’s bones wasn’t just from the increasingly hot water. And letting the water warm slowly turned out to be good advice. Lucius left his son for a moment to spell the rest of his dorm awake, and Draco heard him tell them to get the rest of the House up and ready to move. He heard the groans and curses. It pleased him that they had faced the Headmaster for him, though it seemed the old man had reminded House Slytherin why he was the only man the Dark Lord was hesitant to fight openly.

Groaning a bit as the warm water chased away the cold in his flesh and soothed his muscles, he admitted to himself, if only in his head, that his actions of the last night had been foolish. One did not carry a weapon like that and not know how to use it, after all. After recalling how very sharp that blade looked, he also recalled how the other teen had twitched towards it, before pulling his hand back and encasing him in ice. _That was a conscious decision not to kill m_ _e_ _._ _Hell,_ _I’ll_ _worry about all that later, this water feels too_ _good to_ _t_ _hink about anything else_ _._

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

While Draco warmed himself up slowly, Albus Dumbledore paced inside his office, the only witnesses the portraits and Fawkes. The man was disturbed, something that had happened just now had caused him distress. Fawkes had hope that this was what the Greater Being had promised him, that Albus would finally find himself again. Instead, the man began to argue with himself.

“I was wrong… That ice, was it really just an unknown stasis spell? Was I wrong? Draco seemed all right, if a trite cold. No… I can’t have been wrong. But… Then Draco must have been dead, until the boy brought him back. Resurrection? Impossible! If I can’t do that, the greatest Light wizard of the age, then no one can. It must be Necromancy! Oh Merlin, those four students Minerva let into the school, they must all be powerful dark wizards! I’ll have to excise them by any means necessary!” Then, the man’s voice darkened. “And all they’ve poisoned with their words must die as well.”

Albus seemed to struggle there, his voice faltering. “It… is for… the Greater Good.” He repeated it again, more sure than before. On the third repetition, the words came smoothly, but the inflections were different. Fawkes had known Albus a very long time, and what spoke with his flesh just then wasn’t the Albus he knew, wasn’t his tone, wasn’t the look in his eyes, wasn’t the cruel smile on his face. Fawkes knew that this was the moment Albus finally lost the battle he learned he was fighting far too late. No longer was his old friend a constraint on the weapon, no longer Albus curbing the worst desires of the Elder Wand.

With a cruel smile to the creature that had long attempted to oppose it, now rendered helpless, something that wasn’t Albus called for an elf to gather the Heads of House. With one last chuckle before schooling his features into a convincing imitation of Albus Dumbledore, the _thing_ spoke one last time. “No more kid gloves with the staff. After all, Death is for the Greater Good.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

AN: Reviews are greatly appreciated, they help motivate me to continue writing! It takes a bit of working getting a big chapter out each week. I’m hoping to hit 100 reviews across all platforms soon!

I’d like to thank hkurtz2013 at FF.net for helping me edit, a fresh pair of eyes turned out to be pretty helpful.

The Elder Wand is _ **not** _a nice enchanted object at all. I have a new take on its history for this crossover, it will be interesting to see if anyone can figure it out.

Next chapter sees Lucius Malfoy standing next to a powder keg with matches in his pocket.


	10. Chapter 10: Clash

I don’t own Harry Potter or Warcraft. There’s some stress-related cursing in this chapter.

  
  


Obviously, Popcorn was invented by a Wizard, then it was introduced to the Muggle world later on.

For those who don’t have my notes, the ‘undercover’ drakes are:

Aurogon Salonar: Aurogos the Blue taking the last name from a deceased High Elf he once knew.

Dali and Senas Lothar: The Red dragon siblings Dalistraza and Senastrasz, taking the last name of a human General and bad-ass from the ‘First’ and ‘Second’ wars.

Ral Elsington: Ralion the Twilight Dragon has taken the last name of the priest who was convinced to save the life of his sister when they were fleeing Azeroth.

Chapter 10:  Clash

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Slytherin house closed ranks that morning as they walked to breakfast. Surprisingly, when they reached the Great Hall, they found the Hufflepuffs also grouping together. The Badgers were following directions from a student Lucius didn’t know to actually form ranks, with the first years protected by the older students and grouping them by who knew shield spells and the longest range of their offensive ones. This was greatly puzzling to those coming into the hall, Lucius had never seen students behaving like this before. There were no staff taking their seats yet, leaving the Great Hall with no supervision at all. To Lucius, it was just another thing wrong with the school.

  
  


Both his son and the other teen had admitted going a little overboard, but the blue-haired teen had simply stated that small altercations between adolescent males were to be expected. With more than a little embarrassment he admitted to behaving like a lion coming into a new territory and attempting to intimidate the competition. Draco had admitted much the same, and it pleased Lucius that his son would try to make an ally of the obviously powerful student.

Several Ravenclaw students were coming into the hall, and freezing upon seeing the two houses standing as if for battle. Eventually they slunk to their table and waited, eyes wide. Draco had his House line the wall behind their table and told them be ready for anything, with the best fighters at the ends. Aurogon Salonar took a position  with the seventh year students. No one in the house contested it. Lucius took a place against the wall near his son.

  
  


Soon, they heard a commotion as the Gryffindor students came down with their wands drawn, eyes flashing this way and that. Potter and a number of Weasleys were in the front, two older students behind him, possibly the brother and sister he had heard about. The boy was certainly protective of her. Something about him caught Lucius’s attention and he looked very closely at his head. The boy had a glamour! Without dispelling it, which would be exceedingly rude, it wasn’t possible to know for sure what was under it, but it was odd for a male to use such a thing. Then he saw the child’s ‘wand.’ Yes, that was most certainly a bladed edge with a practical grip. It was obviously a magical focus, much the same as his cane, just more militaristic.  _ And that probably explains the glamour as well. It seems like a young man who saw  _ _ combat _ _ before his time would  _ _ wield _ _ something like that.. _

Surprisingly, the  Gryffindor students saw the Slytherin’s formation and copied it in a way. They kept the younger students in a second row and those who could defend themselves in front. This was getting curiouser and curiouser. At no point did they holster their wands or forgo scanning the room.

  
  


Gesturing to Draco, Aurogon led his son towards the other group, and also made a gesture at the siblings. Harry Potter came with them, and Lucius never left his line of sight. _Obviously the boy remembers the diary from his second year… or the Graveyard…_ He missed the first few words spoken in a staring contest with Potter and cursed himself silently. He did hear Salonar telling Potter to relax, that the Headmaster had told the man his son was dead this morning. Interestingly, he did not share the fact that the Headmaster had come very close to making it a reality.

  
  


In any case, his eyes followed his son as the supposed heal er in training asked to see his wrist for a moment, and suddenly her hands glowed as she touched his son. When Draco didn’t object, she moved her hand slowly up his arm before pulling back. As she instructed his son to sit and placed a glowing hand on the base of his neck touching the skin, he studied the glow as closely as he could. It almost looked like flames, fire magic of some kind, but it obviously wasn’t hurting Draco, as the teen in question let out some groans of contentment. After whispering something to him, she carefully pulled up his shirt slightly and pressed another glowing hand to his spine.

_ Ah, Salonar mentioned the joints would bother Draco if she didn’t help, she’s spreading her magic from bone to bone. Seems to be working, as Draco is never that relaxed. The Dark Lord will want to know about this, but hopefully I can convince him that magic like theirs is useful. One boy using ice magic I’ve never heard of and he admits he needs to learn more control. Another newcomer that seems to heal with fire-magic, both capable of doing it wandlessly. Perhaps forced to, none of them seem to be using their wands a great deal yet. Maybe the wands are new? _

Most of Ravenclaw had come down, and though Lucius wanted to focus on his son, there was something else going on. A contingent of Hufflepuffs were approaching the Weasleys and then spells were being cast. Fingering his wand within its sheath he enhanced his hearing to find out what was happening. “…I’m sorry, you’ve been Obliviated, it looks like between five and ten hours. Good news, you’re not screaming at your friends that you don’t need a mind-healer.” With sharp eyes he watched the Weasley twin lean in close to that Abbott prefect. “We had three last night that said it exactly the same way, same intonations and same pacing. Bad news is it isn’t easy to get those memories back and you might not want them anyway. Uh, best to get you doing something for the moment. You see this wand motion? Watch closely a few times and practice at the floor for a bit, it’s tricky.”

  
  


Lucius agreed it was a rather complex charm.  _ So, the students have been Obliviated? Wait, the same spell is getting different results? That girl just returned pink and started crying. A love potion? And that prefect was white, I can barely hear over the noise now, but I think it was a trust potion? Oh my Albus, you’ve been naughty. I wonder what the readings on Potter’s trio were? They certainly look very stressed. Where in heaven’s name is the staff! There go Hufflepuffs to the Ravenclaws that are eating. Oh dear, this situation is a powder keg. _

  
  


Smiling, Lucius decided to send a Patronus charm to the minister. It was certainly not an easy charm to master, and his feeling of pride in learning the spell had diminished greatly when Potter completed it in his third year, but it remained a very useful piece of magic. (Especially should his Master call the Dementors to his side again.) While speaking to encode the message was generally not required, he wanted the students to think him above-board in this case. 

“Minister, Madam Bones, I request Aurors at Hogwarts immediately. Please bring a full complement of as many trusted healers as you can immediately. You may need to breach the grounds. This is an emergency.” At that, the glowing ethereal crow had flown away. In the wrong direction. Curious, he followed it with his mind as it  flew to Severus’s office and vanished.  _ I  _ _ had _ _ wondered how those messenger spells got anywhere quickly. Must use the Floo network somehow.  _ Oddly, it was after he had called for help that the staff rushed in, and immediately got a lot of wands pointed at them. Though the Salonar boy had admitted to Lucius he had no desire to duel the Headmaster, he sank low to the ground, wand in his left hand and his right curled back behind him as if to throw the scythe that apparently only existed when he wanted it to.

The staff, or at least Albus and the heads of the Houses gaped at all of Slytherin and a good deal of Gryffindor facing off against the staff. _Why would the lions… Ah. They’ve found loyalty potions and compulsions and figured out who they’re keyed to. Potter looks furious. I wonder if he would actually attack the Headmaster? Ha! That new Hufflepuff is saying something and rallying his house, now they’re facing off against the headmaster too._ As the heads of house saw this, they began moving to either side of the Headmaster, with stiff movements and vacant expressions except Professor Snape. Some wands followed them, Snape was by far the most targeted. 

_ Well even I can see he’s been a bully to his students, now the dogs are ready to bite. I’d step in, but he and the Headmaster nearly got my son killed so he can rot. Salonar’s ordering them to layer shields, that’s not a bad idea. Hopefully the Aurors arrive just after the spells start. If they take much longer… Well Albus already proved he can take out Slytherin House without much trouble. I’m certainly no match for him. _

  
  


As he took note of all the wands pointed at him, Headmaster Dumbledore had a genuine look of shock appear on his face. Students with wands out was one thing, but they were taking some kind of battle formation. With his best grandfatherly voice and a warm smile on his face, the old man began to try calming the situation. “Children, there’s no reason to have your wands out. Why don’t you put them away and we can enjoy a good meal before classes start. I need to have a word with a troubled,” Here the old man’s eyes locked on Salonar. “young man. I’m sure your Heads of House can answer all of your questions.” 

Dumbledore’s eyebrows rose when Harry and his friends sent spells at the four heads of houses.  McGonagall ,  Flitwick , and Sprout suddenly glowed white,  blue, and green. Nothing happened to Severus. “Now children,” His tone became as patronizing as the words could possibly be. “Using unknown magic is very dangerous and should only be done in class under the careful watch of your professors. I’m afraid that you’ll need detention for that.”

  
  


Neither the old man or Lucius expected Harry Potter to begin screaming orders with clear anger in his tone. “Shields! Stun the Professors that showed white, their minds aren’t their own! Stun ME if I attack you or start arguing for the headmaster!” 

Lucius was enjoying the show as Potter strode towards the Headmaster, his arms trembling, his eyes blazing with fury and his wand trained on the Headmaster. Magic could be felt in the air now, though it was impossible to truly tell whose it was. Many students were furious, and the Headmaster was trying to intimidate the children instead of reason. He listened closely as Potter continued, wishing he had some popcorn, but felt it would ruin the tension should he call for an elf just now. “Headmaster, I will give you one chance, right now, to tell me what you have done to my mind! Tell me what has been done to so many of us here, tell me who has done it so they can face justice.”

  
  


“ Ah Harry, my boy. You just need to calm down now and put the wand away. This is all just a misunderstanding.” Lucius watched Potter start screaming, even as his body obeyed and returned the wand to his pocket.

  
  


“ Calm down! My mind isn’t my own! Why should I be calm when I’m just a puppet on a string for you?! You know I want to do something now to hurt you, for all suffering you’ve let me endure, but I can’t? I can’t physically strike you! And now my mind is fighting itself, but I WILL NO LONGER BE A SLAVE!” Lucius raised an eyebrow at the amount of  magical  pressure in the room as the boy drew his wand again, his whole body shaking. Edging around to get a look at the boys face revealed his eyes glowing and his hair moving in a breeze. Indoors.

  
  


Now a new person stumbled onto the scene and obviously had trouble deciding who to root for. While  not  fond of the repugnant woman, Lucius had a use for her just now. Raising his voice in a shout, Lucius looked directly at her. “Dolores, quickly! Get to the front gate and get the Aurors! Go now!” 

Hearing the carefully pitched desperation in his voice, the large woman took a last look at the boy that appeared unstable and leaking so much magic he might be floating in the air the next moment with a wand drawn and the Headmaster before making a run for it. 

When Snape moved to  stop her, Lucius sent a hex he remembered James Potter using against the man many years ago. The potions Professor was hit and found himself held in the air by his ankle. When Snape twisted around and snarled at him, he thundered at the man. “Your posturing nearly killed my heir. Did you not think there’d be consequences?”

  
  


Glancing back to Potter, he saw the boy still shaking.  _ Good God, is he burning the potions out of his system with just his own magic? No wonder the Dark Lord has trouble with him. If I can secure enough favor I’ll have to ask Voldermort to let us use him as a breeding stud; halfblood or not that kind of power could revitalize a lot of family lines! He’s releasing so much magic right now my skin is buzzing! _

  
  


Again, Harry was yelling at the Headmaster. “I trusted you! My parents trusted you! My godfather trusted you! You betrayed them and you betrayed me! Ten Years! Ten years I lived not in the ‘smallest bedroom’ with those awful people. You sent my first Hogwarts letter to ‘Harry James Potter, the cupboard under the stairs!’ They beat me! They starved me! I had to steal food just to stay alive!” Lucius saw the tears pouring from the boy’s eyes, and knew he had forgotten everyone else was there.

  
  


“For ten years I had no one that cared, no one that wanted me. Then you sent Hagrid to bring me into our world. You and I both know Hagrid is a nice guy, a great friend, and really bad at keeping secrets. He’s also the least intelligent employee you have! What, were you afraid that McGonogall or Flitwick would have taken one look at me and dragged me to a healer? Were you afraid I might get away from the filth that kept me locked in the dark whenever I wasn’t being worked to the bone? You know that yesterday was the first time I’d ever gotten glasses that were made for me? The only reason I could see anything at all with my old ones was _my_ _MAGIC!_

  
  


“ I got here and everyone already knew everything about me, except it wasn’t me, but some ‘heroic’ boy that lived in some mansion and was spoiled and never had to steal scraps of bread so he would be strong enough to keep working the next day! Then I almost died three goddamn times in my first year. In the hospital wing, you tell me I have to go back to those awful people who somehow aren’t at all afraid of what I’ll do when I can cast magic freely! Do they think I’m going to die before then? Did you alter their minds too?

  
  


“ You know I’ve almost died  ten  times during the school year here? Fuck you, when I was trying to kill the Basilisk and I’d lost my wand your bird dropped in to help, but god forbid you step in and kill the damn snake. A sword was nice, a rooster would have been better! And yeah Snape, mouth off all you like. I’ll drag the skeleton up some time and you can see the hole the sword made while I shove a fang up your ass. I still don’t know why you hate me, but I no longer care! Go to hell!

“ Fucking hell Dumbledore, even my wand is connected to you! Holly and Phoenix feather hasn’t truly failed me yet, but I’m starting to get paranoid now. I wonder how Basilisk heartstring and ( _ Ƥ:) Leaves-like-scales-on-the-Queen-of-all-Dragons will  _ work for me?”

  
  


That said, the boy cast his own wand down onto the ground and drew another from an interior pocket of his robe.  _ That is a beautiful wand. I wonder if it works as well as the other? I’ve never seen an Ollivander wand with that much ornamentation. Shit, it’s soaking up the fool boy’s magic, either its tuning itself to him or it’s about to explode. _

  
  


Albus broke in again. “Harry, my boy, where did you even get that wand? You should use the one from Diagon Alley, I’m sure it's a much better wand than whatever crudely shaped stick you managed to pick up because it looks fancy. You don’t need another wand.” Lucius would bet his left testicle (His favorite one!) that there was a command in that last sentence. He was surprised when the boy started to laugh again.

  
  


“ I’m no longer enough of a fool to leave my mind so open. I’ve learned that not protecting yourself is just asking to get your mind tinkered with in this castle. Stay out of my head, or I’ll kill you.”

  
  


The last  sentence had been spoken in a smooth, sure tone, bereft of any doubt or hesitation.  _ Now that was a good threat, even I can admit that. Wish I had popcorn for this. If I walk out of this with my memory intact I am watching this in the pensieve every month from now on! Hell, I never thought I’d be rooting for the Potter brat at anything, but this is incredible. This should be in a book! _

  
  


As the wand in the boy’s hand seemed to stabilize, the boy, no perhaps a man now, leveled it at the Headmaster once more. In a calm voice, Harry Potter told the headmaster what he thought. “Hmm, you know the wand feels _right_ in my hand? I’m not sure how to put it, but the other just seems _less_ in hindsight now. You still haven’t given me an answer! Why do I have these controls in my head! Why do my friends and so many of the other students?”

  
  


Albus Dumbledore let out a sigh, and his bearing changed a bit. Lucius’s stomach dropped.  _ Oh well, here we go _ .

  
  


The old man looked past Harry briefly and to one student in particular. “You’ve forced me to do this Harry, I hope you remember that.” In a voice that seemed to both echo and not, he continued. “Hermione Jane...” 

He cut himself off and snarled at the cause. Aurogon had moved behind the girl and trapped her in ice. The sound had been much louder than the Malfoy patriarch had expected. Instead of clear ice like Draco had been trapped in, Hermione’s was dark blue and completely opaque.

  
  


That teenage bastard Lucius was beginning to consider adopting into his family just stepped out from behind the ice and sneered at the headmaster. “I’m not sure what you’ve done to this poor girl _Headmaster,_ ” That last word could not have carried more derision on it than it did as it passed the blue-haired teen’s lips. 

“But that is quite enough of that. She will remain safe in the ice until it’s a bit safer for her to be out and about. I think we’ve discovered that there is at least one Dark Lord active in this country Headmaster, only he’s decided to dress himself in white robes instead of black. Students! Nothing on the Heads that won’t heal, put them down and then focus on Dumbledore. No shield magic lasts forever, and there’s a lot of us.” He smirked again, and it was truly a glorious smirk. Lucius was impressed.

  
  


“Remember he has some kind of bird that won’t die, so get _nasty_ with it when it shows up! Stun anyone that turns on us, there’s mind fuckery afoot in this castle! Ready? If you’re shielding, keep em strong! No doubt! No fear! We’ve got Harry Fucking Potter on our side!” Even Lucius had to admit that after seeing the Potter boy stand there _glowing in the wind that wasn’t there_ that last line really did inspire some small bit of confidence, even to him.

  
  


With that, students started throwing every curse they could imagine at the Headmaster, and he saw with pride Draco thinking before sending out a lot of small, brightly colored snakes from the same spell he once used against Potter. He copied it and sent his own swarm to follow, then switched to sending shield breakers against the old man. Potter, he saw just snapping his wand as gussets of flame sailed at the old man and glanced off shields. Not even bothering to shield,  Potter started weaving in and out of the retaliatory attacks.

  
  


Then the boy glanced around and saw the remaining heads (Some very unhappy students had begun targeting Snape as he remained in the air, floating by his ankle. The Professor would live, probably.) surrounded by the conjured snakes. The boy began hissing loudly as he snapped off strong stunners and got Flitwick and Sprout in the back. They went down, and the snakes converged on the headmaster. McGonagall was putting up a hell of a fight however, and distracting a lot of firepower that could be better used elsewhere. _Though, while distracting, she isn’t actually maiming anyone. I_ know _she’s capable of that. In fact, all the Heads were moving oddly, must have been fighting whatever is in their heads._

  
  


Lucius turned his focus on her and suddenly remembered why he _hated_ fighting James Potter in the last war. Around her, every table, knife, candlestick, bench and table began to change its shape and attack the students. (For some reason the spoons were untouched.) That was going to be a pain to clean up even if someone tagged her. A vast number of forks were hopping around, animated by Flitwick before the short man went down. Every spell that could have stopped Minerva McGonagall washed off on a pride of lions that used to be plates.

  
  


Lucius’s consideration of whether or not anyone would notice some really dark magic was abandoned when he saw something rather unusual. Senas, the overprotective brother of the healer was charging McGonagall wreathed in flames that destroyed every construct she sent at him. The teenager roared and every eye turned to him, whether they wanted him to or not. Then he was upon the Transfiguration Mistress and the flames he wreathed himself in destroyed everything, including his own robes. As he batted down another pair of lions with his  _ bare hands _ , he circled around the Professor, and in keeping her focus on him she turned her back on everyone else.  _ That many stunners at her age can’t be good, but that’s a problem for later. _

  
  


A deafening clank of metal was then heard from all directions. Suddenly a suit of armor emerged and attacked a student from behind. Oddly, it was stopped by another suit of armor.  _ Why in the blazes are they fighting each other? It should be all for or all against!  _ As loudly as he could, Lucius shouted to be heard above the din of battle. 

“Hogwarts fights itself for us! Don’t let her old stones show you up! Fight! He’s only one man against us all!” Sadly, if there was ever a proof of the phrase ‘not all men are created equally’ it was in the dance of flame and magic taking place near the entrance. From back where he stood, he could see Potter trading fire (mostly actual fire in the boy’s case) with the headmaster as the intelligent students threw as many shield-breakers as they could at him.  _ Is that even a specific spell Potter’s using or is he just shaping magic into fire and hurling it? _

  
  


When Harry finally, finally managed to get a glancing hit in and the Headmaster felt pain for the first time in that duel, something in his countenance changed. A new spell exploded from his feet and knocked everyone else off theirs. The old man spoke as everyone took a moment to steady themselves. “I am truly sorry you’ve turned to the darkness Harry. Your evil must be ended here. As for you, you’re going to make me kill all these poor children as well. I’m sorry everyone, but it’s for the Greater Good you all die here together.”

  
  


When Lucius got a good look at the spell the old man was casting, it took him a moment to recognize it. It hung  in the air in front of him , a darkly glowing orb. And it was growing. If he’d had anything in his gut he would have hurled  at the sight of that spell. “Stop him now or we’re all dead!” 

Everyone immediately hurled everything they could at the old man, including killing curses Lucius was sure even the light wizards would forgive under the circumstances. A barely there wall of some purple substance leaped into being, covered in runes no one present had ever seen before, and it halted all attacks. Until he saw the two new siblings charge into it, holding an enormous ball of flame between his left and her right hands.

  
  


It was impressive how they moved together as one, even the screaming on their charge was perfectly in sync. “The Fires of Life Do Not Abandon Children, Fool!” Lucius was pretty sure that walls shouldn’t scream, but this one did and it made him fall to his knees and cover his ears. But the deed was done, and he saw that the Salonar teen was behind them, and his scythe was glowing with so much frosty power it was leaving a trail of thick ice behind him.

  
  


_ Obviously this is not the first time they’re worked together.  _ Lucius couldn’t help but snark to himself as Salonar flipped the scythe and hurled it in a spinning circle of frost and steel just  _ before  _ the flame users had jumped out of the way. The spinning band of metal and magic hurtled right towards the Headmaster and would have bisected him, save for the small fact that Albus was the only person currently alive that could apparate within Hogwarts Castle. If nothing else, however, it bought them time. The orb of hungry flames that could destroy a small city had stopped growing for at least a moment. That impressive weapon spun out of the Great Hall and kept going, probably straight out of the castle through the main entrance.  _ God damn where are the fucking Aurors the one goddamn time I want them to show up! _

  
  


The Headmaster had only gone a short distance however, and then he started speaking again. “You show the darkness in your hearts children! You should accept your fates for the good of all!” Huh, now Salonar was making small gestures and eye contact with his friends and Potter. That seemed important. Perhaps he could distract the old windbag long enough for them to accomplish something? _He_ had no idea how to deal with that orb.

  
  


“ Albus, you’ve proved the evil that lies at your core! All the darkness, all the hate! Lord Voldemort feared what you would become! What you would unleash upon this world! But he saw! He prepared! His plans were endless and his mercy without equal! When his blessed unicorn friends came to him and asked him to help them save the children chained beneath you, he didn’t want their help! He said their wondrous light should never need to shed blood! But they insisted! They foresaw that he would need their aid! They donned black cloaks and masks and rushed forth to save the world with a tide of happiness and joy as the first Death Eaters! For Death would be their gift to all evil!”  _ Well if I live through this I’m fucking dead when I get home. At least there’s not great odds with that orb hanging there anyway. _

  
  


Lucius was successful in drawing all attention to himself at that moment, and he gave pause to everyone not frantically working on some sort of plan. (He hoped. He _really_ fucking hoped.) Albus Dumbledore just looked blankly at the man both knew to be a Death Eater and murderer many times over. “Lucius, after all these years, I think you desperately need a mind-healer.”

  
  


Thankfully for Lucius, at that point the three newcomers and Harry began a plan of action that started with moving the old man from where he stood back into line with the entrance to the hall. Then, the floor flickered and changed, seconds before Lucius felt a powerful apparition ward snap into being. Everyone sunk three feet into the suddenly soft ground before Harry Potter tapped his wand against the surface and everyone was trapped.

  
  


He was distracted when Salonar yelled out “Spells in the air to kill the phoenix when he calls for it! **Keep them coming**!” And suddenly the air was rife with a vast number of spells. Suddenly, Albus looked behind him and saw that cold, sharp death had returned. Everyone held their breath for a moment. At the last second, the Headmaster revealed that he either joined or started the fad of unregistered animaguses at Hogwarts by turning into a lynx at the last second. Sadly the scythe missed, and it was caught by Salonar who obviously had practiced long and hard with his weapon, catching it by instinct. 

At that, while everyone had been distracted for just a second, Fawkes flamed in, grabbed the cat by its scruff, and flamed out. There were brief cheers for a moment before the orb that Albus had been feeding and controlling began to destabilize.

  
  


Lucius, as the only one present that knew what it was, started shouting. “It’s compressed Fiendfyre! There’s already enough there to destroy the castle, lake, and village. I don’t know how to stop it.” Taking a few steps, he grabbed his son, and offered what might be his last words. “I’m proud of you Draco. I love you son.” And he was, Draco maintained composure in the face of certain death, unlike a lot of other students.

  
  


Aurogon Salonar however didn’t panic, he was already shouting orders. “Ral! Use your animagus form and burn the orb! Dali! Start healing him. Harry, get us out of this!”

At that, Lucius saw something he never expected to. Of the four newcomers, the one that had been sorted into the house of duffers had seemed the least interesting. That is until his form, still encased in the floor, blurred and a dark purple dragon with some blues and grays charged out of the hole. Lucius was sure that the creature had broken both hind legs and its tail with its transformation, but it used its wings to reach the orb quickly. With a crash, most certainly not a landing, the creature hit the ground just in front of the orb and breathed in a deep breath then released it in a torrent of dark blue flames.

  
  


Lucius had seen a lot of fire in his life, he had seen a lot of magical fire, even. He had never seen a fire in a dark shade of blue. He had no idea what the point of this was, until the dragon choked on its breath and screamed. The sound was rattling, but it took in another breath and breathed out more fire anyway. Then, it began to twitch. Lucius had no idea what was happening, but the supposed duffer was obviously in great amounts of pain even as he took another breath after suppressing a scream and bathed the orb in more blue flames.  _ He’s trying to weaken or destroy the orb, but it’s fighting back somehow. _

  
  


At this point the siblings had gotten to him. Odd, that the brother now had strange, long ears that proved to be very vertical. Deciding the ears were inconsequential at this time, he started stumbling and then ran to the group near the flames. Their healer looked panicked, and that was never a good sign. Her brother snapped her out of it quickly in a few harshly uttered words. “Dali! Doing something is better than nothing. Tell me what I should be doing and I’ll help. I don’t know what to do.”

  
  


The girl looked unsure for just a moment longer. Then steel emerged. “It’s killing him! General healing magic, get the heart and lungs, I’ll get the brain. Pour it in and keep it flowing until I say stop. If we can keep him alive we’ll worry about the rest later.” 

At that, the girl placed a hand on the back of the beast’s head and his throat even as the boy put two hands closely together on the creature’s back. Again it breathed its flames, but they were sputtering now.

  
  


Looking up, Lucius saw that the orb seemed a lot less intense than before. _He’s killing it! Gods know_ how _but it's working. But it isn’t enough._ Then, Potter came up alongside the twitching dragon, raw power and determination pouring off him. Potter dropped his wand, held his hands together as if holding a large ball, and then started to move them together, straining as if he was fighting against something. Lucius had no idea what to do, but figured information on this might save his life after the Lord of the unicorns statement earlier. The boy soon started to sweat heavily, all his limbs shaking with effort and pain. Then, a sound Lucius knew well.

  
  


Harry Potter hissed in the tongue of serpents a short phrase.  _ Ƥ: “Submit! You are less, and you will be nothing!”  _ Every student of Hogwarts, save a Ravenclaw that slept in that day and regretted it for the rest of her life, heard Harry Potter hiss a command, and it could only be a command, at the writhing ball of hellfire. And then it went out, and he fell to his knees in a puddle of his own sweat. The cheers were deafening. Salonar had come up now, and after a few whispered words to the healer and assistant he beckoned them off and used the spell Draco had been trapped in again. This time, his scythe came into play as he skillfully carved some runic script Lucius was unfamiliar with into the ice before beckoning the healer and her assistant/bodyguard forward where they touched the runes, apparently feeding magic into it, as the ice began to glow. Adrenaline started to fade quickly, leaving a lot of students swaying on their feet.

  
  


Potter called two elves to him then. Lucius listened briefly, but he was ready to sit down and rest a bit, it had been a long day already. He got the gist that one elf was being sent to warn the followers of the old fool that Dumbledore had gone insane, and the former Malfoy elf was instructed to straight up kidnap Granger’s parents for the time being. He saw the healer move towards Potter, running those glowing hands over him before directing him to lean against the ice for now. Also, to drink a lot of water. Lucius felt about as thirsty as Potter looked, so while the teen sat down and pulled a bottle out of an expanded pocket, Lucius conjured a glass and used a spell to fill it, drink it, and then drink it again.

  
  


This was how the Ministry of Magic found them, when the Aurors finally broke down the gate and began swarming into the hall. Lucius didn’t even look up, just filling his cup again. Hydration was a great way to recoup lost magic. Studies had found that wizards, while they tended to drink more than their muggle counterparts, excreted a lot less water. While no one knew exactly why, the obvious explanation was that water was used in some way by their magic. In any case, Lucius found himself admiring the workmanship of whoever had enchanted that bottle Potter had, because it obviously contained gallons. The boy didn’t seem to have stopped swallowing in the last five minutes.

  
  


When the Minister himself, with Madam Bones at his side entered the room, neither was quite sure what to make of it. As one would expect with the battle that had been raging, it was wrecked. At least the enchanted ceiling was still intact. The floor was warped, often smoking, and most windows were gone. One of the windows was on fire and crackling merrily.

  
  


When the Minister of Magic, the august Cornelius Fudge saw him, the useless man raced over shouting loudly. Ignoring the man for the moment, Lucius turned to Madam Bones instead. “Bones! Your healers are needed here. Most of the worst should be magical exhaustion. You should secure the castle with your other forces. Dumbledore has gone mad. When the students confronted him about various mind control spells in effect, he fought and tried to kill us all. Potter and the dragon animagus in the ice managed to destroy the compressed Fiendfyre spell before it wiped out the castle, the forest, and Hogsmead. I figure we’re all suffering magical exhaustion right about now. I have no idea where Albus is, but he is an unregistered animagus. I think it was a lynx, but I didn’t get a good look. He used his form to flee at the last moment.

  
  


“ When you see the young man with blue hair, be nice to him, he’s saved my son’s life this morning and helped to drive off the crazed wizard just now. Almost got him too, twice. He’s a very powerful young man. Oh, and DO NOT touch the ice with magic, it’s some kind of stasis spell. Fuck it, just get pensieve memories of this, you aren’t going to believe this shit otherwise. In fact…” Lucius was pleased to note that he still had enough strength to send out a Patronus message. “Narcissa dear, please get the pensieve out. There’s been some developments today and they won’t be believed without being seen. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I love you.” He knew that would unnerve her more than a little, but he felt it important to say anyway.

  
  


Healers were now beginning to swarm over the students. Sadly there were some injuries: between the heads of house, a lot of cutlery had ended up in places where it didn’t belong. Didn’t look like anyone was dead yet though, which with this many healers running to and fro meant there likely wouldn’t be.

  
  


Focusing back on the two watching him as he sat, Lucius Malfoy glanced at Professor Snape, still hanging in the air. “Minister, Madam. I need to stress to you that Albus has been using mind altering potions and spells heavily. I would keep the Heads of House lying around somewhere sedated until you can get them treated, the other Professors too. All of these here are rather fair duelists, and fuck you if you think you want to fight a Transfiguration Mistress anywhere. Fuck, I just want to go home and get drunk. Draco! I need you to get memories in vials of the events last night. Give the Aurors a set if they ask, but I need some to take home and show your mother. All right? Thank you son.”

At that point, not ten feet away, still leaning against the large block of ice, Harry Potter finally stopped drinking. Looking at his bottle, which _still_ contained water, he groaned after feeling his stomach. “There’s no way in hell my body’s holding all that water, I just drank gallons and gallons. What the hell?”

  
  


Tsking, Madam Bones stepped over and looked down at the boy. “It’s common knowledge that magicals use water to feed their magic. How do you not know that?”

  
  


“ Fuck Dumbledore with a rusty suit of armor, he never taught me anything. All I know about the magical world is what I’ve learned in class, and I’ve had some really shitty teachers in this damn school.”

  
  


When the Minister heard this he blustered. “Young man, you really need to learn to respect authority! Your actions prove you...”

  
  


“ Minister, with all due respect, I just dueled Albus Fucking Dumbledore for how long? I don’t even know. And I didn’t even die! Then, when he turned into a little cat and his sparkle-bird got him out of here, the guy in the ice and I managed to quench a spell that had Malfoy convinced we were all about to die. We have had some really shitty teachers here. Don’t believe me? Ask all the girls that stayed after with Lockheart and don’t remember it anymore. Ask anyone who’s given up on potions after spending time with the ass floating in the air.

  
  


“ And as for respecting your fucking authority? Two years ago, I met my godfather for the first time, and I saw the man who betrayed my parents in the flesh, and that asshole,” Here, Harry cast a small ball of fire onto Snape from the emerald wand again resting in his hand. “Lied to you for some petty grudge and you ordered them to kill a man that never got a fucking trial. By the way Malfoy, I know you’re giving him gold so Sirius dies and your heir gets the Black Family. You’re too fucking late, Draco’s going to be the Black Heir over my dead body. For trying to get an innocent man killed, I am planning on dueling you at some point, fair warning.”

  
  


Lucius simply gave a nod, receiving the threat made by Potter’s eyes that any further attempt would involve bloodshed. “And Minister, when I told the High Warlock that my godfather was innocent, you know what he did? He said there was nothing he could do to help, and that an innocent man that actually wanted me around would die that night, unless I could do something about it, oh and there was also a hippogryph that was going to bite it unless I could save two lives at the same time. Oh, and wink, your friend has the only item you need to accomplish this. Try not to die from the swarm of Dementors my boy.”

  
  


Letting go of the head of steam, Harry took a deep breath. “So, with ‘authority’ doing nothing good for me in my entire life, I’ve run out of fucks to give. So have a good think over what I just said, Minister. I will be _most_ displeased if you continue to prove your overwhelming stupidity.” With that said, the boy stood up, wavering a little, and walked off to where his friend Ron was having a fork removed from his arm. The only thing Fudge could do at that point was sputter.

  
  


Malfoy was enjoying the glare Amelia Bones was giving the minister. Getting up, he excused himself. “I’m afraid I’ve had a long day that began with an emergency message telling me my son was dead. I’m finding my son and heading home before Potter decides he’s rested enough to try killing me. Owl me if you want anything, I’m getting drunk today.” 

Finding Draco, and smiling when the boy passed several vials to him, hidden by a swirl of cloak, Lucius gave him one last embrace and began walking out the door. He did give a respectful nod to Salonar, if nothing else the teen had power, guts and skill. He noticed that the scythe was missing again.

  
  


His walk towards the gates wasn’t very long, but it gave him a chance to brace himself for what was about to happen. Hopefully Lord Voldemort was in a good mood with all that had happened and overlooked the unicorn distraction. He was more tired than he expected, apparating home almost got him splinched. He was slow to kneel when he discovered a noseless face waiting for him near the entryway, and only his hurriedly setting aside of the memories saved him from the lash.

  
  


Thankfully, the Dark Lord seemed more interested in the events than meeting out punishment at that moment. Still kneeling, Lucius spoke to his Lord. “My Lord, I have memories for you and whoever you wish to view. There has been much change at Hogwarts today, and I believe I have the proper context. My son collected these vials for ‘his mother’ to view while the  Aurors and healers dealt with the bulk of the chaos. While I haven’t viewed them, even if they are poor memories I witnessed much myself and will gladly share.”

  
  


And with that, he followed Voldemort into the grand dining room of Malfoy Manor. His Lord took his place at the head of the table, as various Death Eaters took their places at the table. Lucius approached the head of the table, knowing his Lord would want him close, but not wanting to assume his place at the right hand. He was soon seated one chair away from the Dark Lord, and retrieved the vials. First, he had an idea. “Grilo! I want refreshments served, then I want you to prepare popcorn.” 

When the elf had popped away and he got odd looks, he shrugged. “If it wouldn’t have ruined the tension I would have called for it during some of the events.

  
  


“ Now,” He pulled out the vials, thankfully finding them labeled ‘sorting’ and ‘common room.’ “Yesterday, four new students appeared in Hogwarts, one of them had an altercation in the Slytherin common room, and somehow events led to a rather epic duel before breakfast was even served in the Great Hall this morning. My Lord, would you like to start at the sorting? Or would you prefer the common room or the Great Hall?”

  
  


Looking amused now, the Dark Lord smiled. “We may as well begin with the sorting Lucius. I trust that this will be worth gathering my followers?”

  
  


Allowing a relieved smile to cross his face, Lucius let out a breath. “My Lord, this will entertain us all without doubt.” That said, he added the first memory and tapped the runes to begin projecting the scene. It was a very good pensieve, and the displayed scene was in color. This was the least important scene, but it gave a few important facts. “The male teen that went into Gryffindor is wearing a glamour on his head, given what he mentioned about his family, I assume whatever occurred left him scarred in some way. You’ll see it later, but his wand incorporates a foot long blade. I dismissed the one that went to Hufflepuff myself, and that was a mistake.

  
  


“ This next memory takes place not long after the meal, and features a slight miscalculation on my son’s part. Thankfully he is still alive.” With that said, Lucius swapped the pearly liquid for the next, and those gathered witnessed the confrontations with the blue haired teen.

  
  


“ This boy, Salonar… He has power. He would make a worthy addition to our ranks, Lucius. Give me your impressions of him.”

  
  


“ Yes, my Lord. He is powerful, but when he said that he was there to learn control, he meant it. I believe his spells take more out of him than he lets on, but the skills to craft such a fine weapon must be considerable. All of his magic that I witnessed involved ice in some way, even his shield; if you look closely the spell froze the carpet around it’s edge. And I believe all four of them are new to the use of wands. That said, the wands they use are interesting, I could only say I doubt they came from Ollivander. Should I prepare the next memory?” 

At a regal nod, Lucius bottled the milky fluid and began drawing forth a strain of memories  from his own head . “This occurred this morning, the Headmaster had just called me to the school, telling me that my son was dead. I… had trouble believing him so I went alone. This took place shortly after reaching the dungeons.”

  
  


Expressions around the table were truly varied as Salonar proved himself a n adept wielder of magic. Draco’s survival was rather well received,  with  smiles and some exclamations when Draco fell from the ice, coughing on the warm air. The memory ended with Aurogon helping Draco to stand and stating he wanted to look his best for the next confrontation. All eyes turned to Voldermort as he digested this. “Interesting. I believe you are right about him lacking focus Lucius. His spells are strong, but seem wild and wasteful. Inform your son that he is to befriend this newcomer. He could prove to be a valuable ally. Now, prepare the next memory Lucius.”

  
  


“ At once my Lord.” Here he withdrew the memory, and the man next to him, Rosier, was polite enough to conjure a vial to store it. As Lucius placed the wand to his temple, he called again for the house elf. “Grilo! Serve the popcorn.” It was short but careful work to withdraw the memory as bowls of popcorn began appearing around the table. Naturally, the largest bowl appeared in front of Voldemort, a perfect distance that didn’t suggest he needed to enjoy the snack, but could if he wanted to. “We may have to watch this one twice. A lot happened, and I made use of the supersensory charm to follow dialogue my presence would have prevented. There are three uses of the serpent’s tongue by Potter, one is the name of some kind of wood I assume, one is a command to conjured serpents, and I have no idea of the last.”

  
  


With that, the memory began, with events from Lucius’s point of view as Slytherin House entered the Great Hall of Hogwarts to find the house of duffers preparing for battle. The memory ended with the Aurors entering and Lucius directing their healers to begin work. All present had seen longer memories in a pensieve, but none had seen one more intense.

  
  


Voldemort was chuckling when the scene faded. “A Lord of Unicorns am I now? Ha! You are forgiven for your desperate distraction of the old fool Lucius, his response was amusing enough. The newcomers showed some interesting magic. Will the dragon animagus survive Lucius?”

  
  


“ Unknown, my Lord. A skilled healer panicking is never a good thing, but from what I know about that ice stasis spell, it will preserve his life as the magic that is fed into the runes does its work. I intend to advise the Ministry against taking possession of the block of ice, as Salonar and the siblings would not take  such a thing lightly. I suspect they already have plans for the Ministry doing something stupid, so that the only result will be the depletion of Ministry personnel. Salonar, during his spat with Draco, chose not to use his weapon apparently out of a desire not to make enemies if he didn’t need to. If the Ministry makes itself his enemy, I doubt he will be as merciful.”

  
  


“ Interesting. There is no danger of them treating their own, and I think the Aurors will be needed for hunting down the Dark Lord! HAHA! Who would have thought Albus had this in him! Avery, what else do we know about these newcomers? Have there been any rumors in the Alley?”

  
  


Looking more than a little nervous, Avery removed a sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. “Yes my Lord. They were first seen shopping yesterday in Diagon Alley but not entering Gringotts Bank. They were seen purchasing all of the necessary supplies for Hogwarts save wands. They proved talkative with a number of clerks, especially who we now know as Mr. Salonar at a used bookstore. My contact couldn’t get an exact list, but he purchased a large selection of textbooks for all years, though the lower four years he only purchased one set. He also purchased texts dealing with magical construction, magical greenhouses, runes, and stone-working.

  
  


“ My Lord, he appears to have simply purchased the required texts and then bought every book that  looked interesting or thought his friends might enjoy. The rumors said that the red haired female was a healer in training based on the care she took when choosing the group’s potion ingredients, along with a separate conversation with another clerk.

  
  


“Other rumors based on what they said indicate the group is closely-knit. As for their origins, taking the various comments together, it would seem a group of at least three teenagers, Hogwarts age or close, fled the country together during the last war. It seems one of their parents told them to take their friends, flee the country and never look back. Oddly, they declined to comment as to what side of the war they had descended from. It could easily have been a mixed group of your supporters and others. Apparently their families died, and thus they never returned; they also swore an oath to never reveal their family names to protect their children. Before seeing that memory, I would have said they were Light families fearing you, my Lord, but if they had some idea of how the Headmaster operated, fear of Dumbledore is also a possibility.

  
  


“In any case the group made their purchases, and then waited at a confectionery stand while Minerva McGonagall and a _most subtle_ group of the Order of the Phoenix guards took Harry Potter to a magical optometrist in the Alley. Both groups met, and made polite conversation as they were escorted to the nearest Floo, whereupon McGonagall traveled to the castle and spent several moments opening her private fireplace. 

“What I’ve heard stresses that these teens were polite and respectful, and seemed intelligent. Elsington, the ‘dragon duffer,’ seemed more reserved, and shied away from crowds before catching himself and forcing himself to act normally. I have that memory but did not bring it with me. The last thing I have of note is that prior to coming here, they were taught by a private tutor, which implies their families have some gold, though a good tutor split four ways is a bearable cost. Apparently their previous tutor ran afoul of a dragon and perished. That is all I have my Lord.”

“Interesting. I would wish for you to convince them to share their magics with the children of my loyal followers, or the entire school if that isn’t possible. There _may_ be something worth learning there. I want to learn more about that scythe, and if Salonar would be willing to craft additional ones for others. Do you think they will side with Potter, Lucius?”

  
  


“ While two of them did end up in the same house my Lord, I believe that to be an effect of the brother feeling the need to protect his sister. Both certainly showed courage during the battle. Salonar leads them however, and he is a Slytherin. I suspect that he will explore the situation a fair bit before choosing a side; I would expect him to side with whatever side looks to be winning. I do not think he would ever have sided with Dumbledore, though there is a chance he may side with Potter. Potter himself has been naught but a puppet on strings to this point, but I believe they have been soundly cut. If you wish, I will also instruct Draco to attempt to befriend Potter, using today’s battle as an excuse to put aside past differences.”

  
  


“ Hmm… An interesting thought. Potter has rejected my kind offers to join me, are you suggesting I give him another once his mind is solely his own? Very well, instruct your heir to befriend the boy.

  
  


“ Now, on to another point. Potter’s accent with parseltongue is atrocious, but he named his new wand’s wood as ‘Leaves-like-scales-on-the-Queen-of-all-Dragons.’ Which is an odd name for a tree, especially that he would speak it in that tongue seemingly without meaning to. Hmm, those of you with libraries and no other tasks take some time to see if you can find a tree that would fit these words. It is only an idle curiosity, however. Also, those of you with children that understand subtlety, I would like to know who crafted these wands, both Potter’s and the others. Their construction does not match Ollivander’s methods, and our friends that remain in Azkaban will soon need new wands of their own. If these wands prove as good or better than what that old man crafts, well it would be easier to procure a lesser-known wand-maker, wouldn’t it?

  
  


“ Lucius, take some time to compose yourself, then get to work. I want the Ministry hunting down Albus with lethal force. Use whatever methods you wish, but whip them into a frenzy and set the hounds on him.”

  
  


Smiling at the chance to rest himself, if only for a moment, Lucius replied. “My Lord, I would show all of Britain this memory, that will be enough to sway anyone with a free mind to end him.”

  
  


“ Take the memory when you leave. For now, I’m going to enjoy it a few more times. Have your elf keep this interesting snack coming. You all are dismissed. Keep your ears open for more information.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  
  


A/N: Fun times. Remember, at the end of the last chapter Albus lost a war he’d been fighting for a long time.

  
  


The tentative name for the tree they’ve made wands out of is “Boughs of Alexstrasza.” but it feels a bit awkward. In Warcraft, the Red Dragonflight has these large trees with red leaves in their settlements, and at least one of my dragons had a sample with them. My headcannon is the Dragons have been cultivating the trees for a very long time.

  
  


Anyway, I wanted to say I read and appreciate every review, even the unfavorable ones. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

  
  


Next chapter events move forward.

  
  


Here’s a list of the drakes currently on Earth:

  
  


Alira: Green Drake. Before she was drafted, she was training to be a professional mother. Alira already feels safer on Earth than she did on her home world ever since the latest war began. Sometimes she cosplays as a Night Elf.

  
  


Aurogos: Blue Drake. He’s been keeping himself busy, as the best trained user of magic in the group he’s had plenty of things to do. To say he wasn’t happy with the leadership of his kind on Azeroth would be a great understatement. Azeroth’s ‘Nexus War’ has left him with many nightmares. When thumbs would be helpful, his form of choice is a human with blue hair.

  
  


Caliona: Twilight Drake. She was the first to join Tendrion’s little rebellion, though she wasn’t aware of what she’d become a part of at the time. She’s really looking forward to learning proper magic, not just what her friends can figure out on their own. Her mortal form is a human with sharp, aristocratic features, black pigmented eyes, and streaks of blue in her hair.

  
  


Dalistraza: Red Drake. Every adventuring group needs a healer, and she’s happy to fill the role. While generally a kind person, her healing training didn’t include ‘bedside manner.’ If she tells you to rest, you _will_ rest. With a wand she will soon be learning the ways of the sticking charm and sleep spells.

  
  


Ralion: Twilight Drake. He would normally be a great leader, but he’s been off his game recently, adapting to getting the evil gods out of his mind. He’s glad they’re gone, but it still takes some getting used to. His human form has black hair, a short beard, and purple eyes. His most recent thoughts could be summed up as “Ouch,” just with a lot more cursing.

  
  


Senastrasz: Red Drake. You know that guy in the dungeon group that repeatedly gets hit in the face so you don’t? That’s Sen. He chose his path as a Guardian, a protector early in his life and it suits him. He’s also fairly skilled around a forge, learning what he could ever since he saw his flight’s Dragonspawn breathing flame onto weapons before continuing to beat the steel into the proper shape. His second form is a High Elf with red eyes.

  
  


Stine: Bronze Drake. When he joined Harry Potter, he officially retired from life as a Time Cop on Azeroth, but it was a mostly thankless job anyway. (Long hours and job hazards aplenty.) Many Bronze Dragons know their fates ahead of time, Stine saw his and didn’t like it at all. When given the chance, he chose a different path who’s end he couldn’t see. His alternate form is a feline centaur called a Tol’vir. Orange with black stripes, ears that suggest an elf in his ancestry and no shortage of muscles identify his second form. His Leatherworking hobby has kept him busy recently, there’s a lot of magical snake to process.

  
  


Talion: Black Drake. Most certainly a follower, he was thankful for Tendrion bringing him into the group. He was actually the oldest of his group before coming to Earth, but had an especially crappy childhood. His human form bears a heavily muscled warrior’s build, with black hair and burnt orange eyes.

  
  


Vespiona: Twilight Drake. Sister to Ralion, she was very close to Tendrion before they parted ways. She’s in mourning for a loved one she will never see again. Her mortal form is a Draenei with blue skin and purple eyes.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  



	11. Chapter 11: Ninja-Looting Hogwarts Castle

I own neither Harry Potter or Warcraft.

  
  


In Warcraft, last I knew anyway, ‘Intellect’ increases a caster’s available mana, (the amount of magic one has to throw around at any given point) the regeneration of said, and the strength or impact of cast spells. That’s the way I’m using it. ‘Agility’ in this fic gives a bonus to speed of movement and the ability to dodge. It’s helpful for Harry because he has pretty good reflexes in cannon and my fic; why cast a shield when you can dodge incoming spells instead?

  
  


Harry’s current magical gear:

  
  


Two Wands:

  
  


Holly and Phoenix Feather: A very precise wand, not a perfect fit for Harry anymore.

  
  


Alexestraza’s Boughs and Basilisk Heartstring: Made from the species of tree cultivated over millennia by the Red Dragonflight of Azeroth and the heart of the creature slain by Harry Potter, it it a more aggressive wand, capable of shaping much more magic at the cost of being worse for precise spellcasting. It is capable of channeling more magic than Harry is capable of using right now.

  
  


Necklace of the Deep: Agility and Stamina, Intellect and Precision gems, gifted by the mortal compatriots of the second group of dragons when they separated. Due to the nature of the materials used to craft it, the simple pendant feeds pure water into the wearer through the skin, though not enough to keep one hydrated alone.

  
  


Skin of the Great Snake (5 out of 8 equipped): Leather Armor set crafted from the hide of Slytherin’s Basilisk. Stine, a skilled but not yet master of Leatherworking, has crafted a series of magical items out of the significant amounts of hide available. A simple set, the leather armor provides benefits to Stamina, Agility, and Intellect. It’s an attempt to bolster Harry’s strengths: to help him not tire easily, dodge incoming spells when possible so as not to waste magic shielding them, and strike harder. The ‘set bonus’ is increasing his ability to dodge and empowering his spells. Visually the Armor is simple emerald leather, no excess adornments.

  
  


Equipped Items:

Chest

Waist

Bracers

Legs

Boots

  
  
  


Chapter 11: Ninja-Looting Hogwarts Castle

  
  


Under Hogwarts Castle, Stine had been busy. In fact, he’d been so busy, his fingers had begun to bleed. Mock him as much as they want, his mortal form had proved exceedingly useful; an elf’s fingers would have given out hours ago, leaving his task unfinished. He wished he’d had more time, how ironic.

  
  


But when he and Aurogos had restored Slytherin’s wardstone, the Bronze drake had cheated. A little bit of himself left in the stone, and he had a limited warning from himself in the future. He’d actually gotten the message when they first entered the Chamber of Secrets, written to him, by him, some time yet in the future. It wasn’t terribly uncommon magic for the Bronze Dragonflight back home:  P ast, present, and future were difficult to keep straight at times for creatures that lived in the Caverns of Time.

  
  


Stine himself had been born thousands of years ago, apprenticed before the War of the Ancients, and performed his duties across the timeline of Azeroth. An idiot of a Dalaran mage had been his most memorable assignment, he’d tracked the  fool that had created an unstable temporal device back through twenty five thousand years of history.

  
  


When he finally caught the fool, the mage had been _grateful_ to see a Bronze drake, even knowing he was in serious trouble for mucking with temporal magic. Bronze dragons were usually limited to never travel to the time before their Dragonflight was created, but he had followed the mage through the device. At that point, it was clear the item was only capable of backwards time travel. Stine had made a deal with the mage, don’t threaten the timeline again, agree to destroy all his notes and devices, and Stine would get him back to his correct era.

  
  


The mortal carefully placed in a stasis spell, Stine had observed from a distance his distant ancestors, what history now only knew as ‘Proto-Dra gons .’ It was a joy, as he traversed the young world, to see their great diversity, the magic that was such an intrinsic part of them flow wild and free. Stine had stolen across the world, silent as a ghost until he reached the Titan’s Halls of Origination.

  
  


Though prickly, the Titan-Forged constructs had agreed to allow him a corner where he could sleep in a stasis spell until the Dragonflights were created. From there, he’d flown to the Caverns of Time and navigated the timeways far into the future. When the time was right, he’d escorted the mage to his workshop, watched him destroy all that was promised, and cast a subtle spell on him that would alert him if the mage ever touched temporal magic again.

  
  


As feline hands shook, he carefully wiped his creations clean of the detritus of their crafting and the drops of blood falling onto them.

His Lord would be going into battle in only a few hours, and while there was a chance he could have survived that battle without Stine’s greatest work yet, the message had told him that the armor crafted from the snake his Lord had slain two years ago had helped. Without knowing everything about the situation, it was impossible to know whether his contribution made the difference between success and failure.

  
  


“I hate working within a time-loop. Shame I can’t place blame on anyone else but myself for this one.” Hearing the scraping sound of talons on stone, he was glad to see Alira behind him. Scenting his blood, she rushed forward and began to channel healing magic into his hands. While not a fully-trained healer, she would have to do for now; both Reds would be needed elsewhere in the coming days. But first, a more urgent task loomed.

  
  


“ Alira, I appreciate the help, but there’s a more important task. I need you to write Harry and Hermione notes, then send this stack to her, this stack to him, and these to his closest friends. Dobby can do it. We must get the items sent  _ now _ , before they wake up.”

  
  


-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

  
  


In the Great Hall of Hogwarts,  not long after the Ministry had entered the school,  Harry had watched Lucius Malfoy leave. He would get more information later, but the fact that the man loved his son was true at least. Ron was bandaged after having one of Flitwick’s animated forks removed from his bicep, and would be fine as long as he let it heal a bit. The Basilisk hide armor Ron wore on his chest had protected him from more than one of the forks that had been flying about.

  
  


It was a strange sensation Harry thought, wearing armor under his robes, even more so enchanted armor. Stine had been busy down in the Chamber of Secrets; his skill at working leather into useful items had proven rather useful. All the Weasleys in Hogwarts were sporting vests made from the Basilisk, while Harry and Hermione had even more. Though not visible under his robes, Harry was wearing boots, pants, a belt, chest armor, and two odd items on his forearms. The note that had come along with the armor told him they were commonly known as vambraces or bracers for short, and these were meant to take a blow if one couldn’t avoid it.

  
  


Stine’s note  ( d ictated to Alira)  had described the cumulative effect of armor pieces that were meant to be used together, but Harry hadn’t expected it to work so well. He’d been quicker, more agile than he’d ever thought he could be during that fight. His spells had been stronger too, much of that was thanks to the armor itself and the magical gems that had been placed  throughout . Still, he was growing stronger magically himself as well. His body felt stronger, healthier than ever before in his life thanks to the efforts of his new healers.

  
  


Harry was honestly surprised at the number of healers rushing to and fro in the Hall, he didn’t know the country had that many. With Ron in tow, the two met up with his older brothers who were sitting with all three of the chaser girls and Ginny. Harry waved, then started drinking more water. Aurogos had given  him the expanded water bottle the night before last and told him to drink it wherever he could. It was apparently water with a very thin solution of the regeneration potion he’d already taken once.

  
  


When he reached the ice block that held Hermione, his blood ran cold. Dumbledore had done something to her that caused the detection spell last night to register black. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was going to _use_ her against the students; his words when he called her name were laced with magic. When he reached the block, it was cold, but not as cold as it looked. Aurogos strode over and tried to comfort his Lord then. “This is a complete suspension spell. As soon as she’s in a safe place with a mind-healer ready to help her I can release the spell. From her perspective, no time will pass at all from the ice forming to when it releases her. Be just a little careful moving her, I’d recommend an expanded trunk.”

  
  


With that said, the Blue drake in disguise walked over to Dali and Senas, reminding them not to exhaust themselves, as the Ministry was _not_ trustworthy. Cameras had arrived by then, and among other things, they captured Harry Potter leaning his head against Hermione’s ice and letting tears fall.

  
  


He only allowed himself a few moment’s rest before he walked over to the two Reds fussing over Ralion’s ice. Apparently he would be fine, as long as the spells held. It was the way his first oathsworn screamed when his flames tore at the Fiendfyre that really motivated Harry to finish snuffing it out. To continue the deception, he inquired of the two of them, not especially loud, but loud enough to be overheard by the people running around everywhere. “There’s a space I found on the second floor here. Would you like to move your friend there to keep him out of the way? I’m going to get Hermione secure there and then find a healer I can trust.”

  
  


Giving him a warm smile, Senas nodded his head. “Yes, I don’t trust people not to start casting spells at it. These healers don’t believe the ice is a stasis spell. Here, let’s get him into my trunk. With that, the trunk was opened and the ice block containing a very injured dragon was lowered in. Sirius, bless his easily bored heart, had added the same spell that allowed bottomless bags to swallow larger items, among many others, to the rim of the trunk. Soon, Ralion was inside and Dali was charging the runes again. Surprisingly, Hannah Abbott came over and asked how Ral was doing. She looked relieved when they told her that he would be fine in a week or so when the spells ended.

  
  


Moving on, Harry asked the Weasleys to assist him with Hermione as his magic was still pretty well used up. Soon she was secured, the twins offering to head down to keep her steady. Looking around one last time before withdrawing, he spied Aurogon working with Draco to get untainted food on the tables, apparently by hunting in the forest with a few Aurors as support. Everyone was feeling more than a little paranoid at the moment, so they decided to get food that had no chance of being tainted by potions. As he gazed at all the faces looking so busy, he spied someone he’d recently seen a photograph of.

  
  


With a smile on his face, he asked his friends to hold up a moment. It took a moment to catch up to her, but he was glad when he did. “Andromeda Tonks! It’s nice to meet you, I’m Harry.” 

Pleased, the woman finished binding a fork wound (As it turned out, Professor Flitwick would gain a new nickname after this, the Fury of  the Forks. He was regarded with a good deal more fear by all of his students from this day onward.) before turning to Harry. Sadly the teen she had been treating started snarling at how the golden boy Potter came through without a scratch, when most of the other students had forks jammed in all sorts of places. Harry just stared down at the teen who’d been soundly forked, not once, not twice, but three times during the battle. 

“Try learning to dodge. What do you think those spells the Headmaster was throwing at me would have done? What did they do to the  _ walls _ ?” Harry gestured to a section of Hogwarts Castle where the stones were either cooling slag, char, or pebbles. Idiot soundly shut up, he turned to Andromeda again. 

“My friends need a mind-healer I can trust, are you willing to help us?”

  
  


The middle-aged witch smiled at him. “Yes, I can help them Mr. Potter. And it’s nice to meet you. Do you have a room somewhere set up?”

  
  


“ Yes, my friends and I were just on our way to the second floor.” They met up with Ron, Ginny and Senas, as they were waiting for them near the exit. Before exiting, Harry turned back to the room. “Accio Harry Potter’s wand.” There was a great ripping sound of fabric, and the wand flew into his left hand, with a piece of pocket still attached.  Harry met the hateful glare from a man he recognized as Walden Macnair, unflinching. The man turned away when Harry smirked.

“It’s still my wand, even if it is a mind-control device of some sort.” Harry did hand it off to Andromeda, where she placed it into a small iron box.

  
  


As they approached the stairs, finally away from the mass of people, Harry asked Andromeda a question. “I heard my godfather was trying to bring you back into the family, have you been able to speak with him?”

  
  


Smiling as they waited for a staircase to fall into position, Ron and Ginny gave Andromeda a curious look as she replied. “Yes, and I’ve accepted, but we shouldn’t talk about it in the open. Is your place secure from prying eyes?”

  
  


“ Yes, I’ve been learning to cast a certain charm the three of us experienced over the summer. It seems to get easier with each cast.” Here, Ron and Ginny were looking back and forth between Senas and Harry. Senas just smiled. 

“Ah, we’re here. Ron, Ginny, just trust me a moment, okay?”

  
  


With that Harry dragged them into the bathroom most couldn’t see, while Andromeda was picked up and carried along by the disguised drake. No one stopped until they were in the tunnel (still lit with stairs) that led down into the Chamber of Secrets.

  
  


Neither Ron or his sister recognized the place at first, thankfully. Harry tried to begin explaining. “Sorry about that. We just moved you through a Fidelius Charm, and those are weird to go through if you don’t know the secret. I might as well tell you guys that I’ve been busy this week. You see, I found myself suddenly in need of a lot of space to hide some new friends in the castle. The Room isn’t bad, but we needed something with an escape route if worse came to worst. Andromeda, did Sirius tell you anything about my secrets here?”

  
  


“ No, only that I should trust you like he does, and that your secret completed Regulus’s Last Task.”

“ Okay, how do you feel about magical creatures?” As he waited for her response, Harry found himself tackled nearly to the floor by a purple elf. Ron and Ginny were drawing their wands until they heard Senas laughing. Suddenly they noticed his ears again, which they had previously assumed had been from some stray spell during the battle. Harry felt himself redden as a ‘healthy’ elf rubbed her head against him for a moment; his face blushed even harder when he remembered her treatment for removing the foreign substances from his body.

  
  


“ This is Alira. It’s a long story, but she’s one of the people I met last weekend. Anyone mind if we head into the main area? It’s a bit more spacious and I have an elf that can get us something to eat. Most of us missed breakfast and I, for one, am starving.” And with that, the group started moving down the stairs into the Chamber of Secrets.

  
  


-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

  
  


Back in the main hall, Aurogos had thanked Draco for introducing him to the school’s top three warding students before the younger Malfoy  and friends went hunting in the forest with some Aurors to watch their backs. It was an eclectic group Aurogon gathered in a side room devoid of portraits a few moments later. To handle objections, Aurogon quickly produced several very simple contracts that stated his goals for what he was about to do and an agreement not to use their collective work for personal gain, as well as a clause to ensure complete secrecy.

  
  


Once done, he told them that he now had control over one of the four ward stones of Hogwarts, and wanted to capture control of the rest before the Headmaster tried to return. Everyone decided that was a wonderful idea, so Aurogon led them out in search of the general area he knew the Hufflepuff stone resided in thanks to the Slytherin stone.

  
  


-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

  
  


Half an hour later, after they had dueled a number of house-elves to get at the wardstone hidden behind the largest cooking fire in the Castle’s kitchen, Aurogon’s team quickly got to work. “These stones are strange, they have a  _ lot  _ more personality than I’d expect. But with some self-repair sequences and some more aggressive defense options on sub-stones connected to the main one as offerings the Hufflepuff stone accepts!”

  
  


Wiping his face clear of sweat, the group paused to enjoy some food the other elves had prepared for them under watchful eyes. They drank deeply of condensed water as well. “I still can’t decide if the Founders were idiots or geniuses. These stones each conflict with and snipe at the others. But overall the ward scheme is still very strong, and getting stronger.”

  
  


Between bites of her sandwich, Naomi Lyon, a  dark-skinned  halfblood Ravenclaw seventh year, added her thoughts into the mix. “Well they say that there’s a fine line between genius and insanity. Perhaps there’s a function to the wards struggling against each other? Could the way they grind at each other be a way to gain strength?”

  
  


That was food for thought, that the group considered while they were eating their meal. Naomi continued after a moment. “What I really want to know are those rune sets you used. I’ve never seen any of them elsewhere. Ever.”

  
  


This line of thought had Jason Atreides, a seventh year Slytherin pureblood  of distant Grecian descent , (but one largely unconcerned with blood purity) and Sarah Summerland, a sixth year muggleborn in Hufflepuff  with blond hair and blue eyes , both fixing their attention on Aurogon.

  
  


All three just looked at him until he sighed. “I can’t tell you that yet. When things calm down a bit after this though...” He smiled as he drew out the tension. “How would you like to learn the runes I’m using? Some of them are dangerous if you don’t have the right bloodline, and I’m talking about being a descendant, not ‘purity.’ So I won’t teach you how to use runes that will actually _try_ to unbalance and kill you, but I know a few others.”

  
  


Sarah scoffed. “A few? If you weren’t using at least three different runic languages I’m a goblin! And we’ve never seen any of them!”

  
  


“ Yes my dear, I know a few interesting things about runes and warding. A few other subjects as well.”

  
  


Now Jason joined the conversation. “Like whatever you did to Malfoy and those other students in the great hall? Like that glorious scythe you carry? Salonar, it saddens me that I won’t be here long enough to learn all you could teach me.”

  
  


Now Aurogon laughed aloud. “My friends, if we tame the other two ward stones I can usurp the title of Headmaster from the bearded twit. I find that this castle could use a few more classes, and that the defenses could use a lot more work. Hell, a few more adults in the castle could help out and I could argue they were needed as ‘teaching aides.’ If we can do this, tame the castle I plan on making some changes around here. Somehow, your Professors seem to have made learning magic boring! That offends me deeply.

  
  


“I’m sure the Ministry could try appointing a new headmaster, but they’d have to pry me out of here first. If I can remove the magics limiting the castle’s wards, that won’t be easy for them. You three help me today and as long as you agree to a simple oath or two, I’ll teach you enough to keep you busy for years. What do you say?”

  
  


Sarah chugged the rest of her drink and slammed the glass down on the small table. “I say we can eat this on the way up. You said the next stone was somewhere near the Ravenclaw Head of House office? Let's get going!” Both of the other students cheered, and Naomi started leading them up out of the kitchen.

  
  


Aurogon smiled. This morning had gone to hell, but if there was one thing his life thus far had taught him it was how to make the best of things when life turned sour. Ten hours, several breaks, a couple of stunned Aurors, and two ward stones later, Aurogon yelled “Yoink!” as he appeased the spirit of Gryffindor’s stone (Which for some reason was guarded by a sleeping stone dragon they’d had to tickle, then slay.) and felt the entire ward scheme of the school fall onto his shoulders.

  
  


From the stone, or something very near to it, a voice began speaking in the same tone as the Sorting Hat. “Congratulations! Headmaster Aurogos, formerly of the Blue Dragonflight of Azeroth! Hogwarts has never had a dragon from another world as Headmaster before! We will expect great things from you.”

  
  


Looking at the three awed students, Aurogos could only sigh.  _ I guess I’m collecting Dragonsworn already. _ “ Okay, if you agree to work under me I will teach you mysteries of magic you  can only imagine and offer to extend your lives by at least a millennium. You’ll get stronger magically too, by how much I have no idea on this world. Oh, and that runic language I said I wouldn’t teach you? Once you’re able to speak the language I’ll teach you to use the runes. It’s a bit like Parseltongue and called Draconic.”

  
  


The Blue Dragon had already gotten a good read on the three, they were excited by magic and wanted to _learn_ more than anything else. Of course, they wanted comfortable lives too, but with the castle here that was easy enough to supply. Naturally they all agreed as he had known they would. “My people have a ritual oath that binds us together with a mortal. I want you to be sure, because once you take the Oath of the Dragonsworn there is no turning back. You’re basically agreeing to serve me in exchange for knowledge, power, and a long life. I’ve lost a lot in my life, friends, loved ones, my home. If you agree to serve me, you will have a master that cares about your lives, and will never throw you away. Is this something you want?”

  
  


Jason was the first one to speak after their mutual agreement. “I’m not sure what you know about the outside world, but things are about to get bad out there.  I refuse to join the insanity of the Dark Lord, but  I can’t let my family die for my choice either. In a day, you might have doubled the strength of the Hogwarts wards. I’ll take my chances here with you instead of out there, dealing with two dark lords. Are you truly a dragon? How old are you anyway?”

  
  


With a sigh, Aurogos used the wards to seal the room they were in, and summon an elf to provide a meal with no potions added. Once the food and water was there, and a slight alteration of the castle linked a hallway with a forgotten Prefect’s bathroom to where they sat, he took his real form once more. After stretching a bit, he answered the other question. “I’m sixty-two. I’ve got about forty years until I reach my first maturity, your society’s equivalent to coming of age at seventeen. Then I’ve got another nine-hundred years after that before others of my kind would consider me wise enough to have a place in our leadership or a voice when we decide something as a group.

  
  


“ I’m going to need to send for a book from the master I studied under for twenty years; he’s going to make fun of me because I once told him I’d never have a Dragonsworn. To give you an idea about how long my kind can live, he’s twenty thousand years old, and among the oldest of our kind. Is there anything else you need to know?” And so they ate, Aurogos back in his mortal form for the ease of using silverware, explaining one thing or another as they went.

  
  


That night, after everyone had taken a shower and gotten into comfortable clothes, he had them conjure a large bed, slipping into the corner once again in his true form. “Here’s my first order. Dragonsworn, as far as I’m concerned, are family. I want you to get comfortable around me, so get sorted and we’ll sleep here tonight.”

  
  


A little hesitant, the three climbed up, Sarah shuffled until she was leaning against his side, close enough to hear the beating of his heart. Hesitantly, she asked: “What would you have done if we had said no to your offer?”

  
  


The Blue drake rumbled as he chuckled. “You weren’t going to say no, any of you. I can see you want to know more about magic and no one knows more on the subject than a Blue Dragon. But to answer your question, I would have convinced you to sign contracts or take oaths that made you unable to tell for at least a decade. If I couldn’t secure a base of power by then, I would deserve what your world would throw at me.

  
  


“ I never liked the idea of mind-altering magic, not since I was a whelp. This whole thing with the old headmaster has soured it even more. Now tomorrow I’ll take us where I left my supplies, you can meet a few other friendly faces while I carve the oathstones and figure out how to send a message to Senegos. Only hard part will be getting you three through a Fidelius effect, but that’s not impossible. Now get some sleep. You’ve been immensely helpful today, and we all need rest for what tomorrow brings.” One by one they got a little closer and eventually fell asleep.

  
  


Aurogos stayed up a fair bit longer. He had learned most of the magic around Dragonsworn years ago. It wasn’t something he shared with anyone, but he was going to offer one of the female High Elves Senegos’s clan had taken in to become his; his Dragonsworn, his partner in their mutual service of Azeroth, his lover for as long as the both of them lived. It hurt to think about, when he’d found her dead in the Nexus. He’d even carved the oathstone for her out of a precious jewel she loved. He knew she would have said yes, they’d been courting for years.

  
  


His mind drifted to the time she’d ridden on his back to a deserted beach he’d spent a lot of time warding to keep out anything that would ruin their day. He would never forget her smile when she asked him how they were getting there and he had lowered his shoulder. The intimacy of that flight, the sound of her laughter in the surf, the feel of her pressed against his true form as they enjoyed a roasted boar over an open fire, and the feelings she provoked when she had splayed out on a blanket in the light of the sunset and offered herself would never be forgotten. As she lay there, offering herself, he had just leaned close and whispered in her ear, his tone full of lust. “Soon my love. Soon we’ll be together and fly across this world for millennia to come.”

  
  


A few days later, they and many others had gone to the Coldarra to affirm their loyalty to their newly awakened Aspect. _Maybe someday I won’t hate myself for that. Perhaps that is one benefit of our long lives._ With some embarrassment, he realized his memories had caused a physical reaction. _At least they’re asleep. If either of the females offered to lay with me I don’t think I could turn them down, but at some point soon I need to tell them it isn’t required or expected._

  
  


_But if they’re interested and willing… It’s not like I’ve had a chance for physical relief in a long time. If not for the taboo between flights Dalistraza would have been a nice dalliance, but it isn’t as if I had feelings anywhere near close enough to consider breaking the Titan’s law like that._ Glad the younger ones were asleep enough to miss his toothy yawn, he closed his eyes. _Oh well, it has been a very long and busy day._

  
  


-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

  
  


While Aurogon was launching an expedition to punch house elves in the face and tickle stone dragons in pursuit of the ward stones, Harry Potter was leading an increasingly nervous group down into the Chamber of Secrets. When he looked back to see Ron and Ginny frozen as they finally realized where they were, he sighed. “I know you both have bad memories of being in here, but it isn’t so bad now. All it took was proper lighting and some fresh faces and it’s like a different space entirely. I think they were even talking about installing a garden around somewhere. Trust me, there’s an entirely different secret down here these days.”

  
  


Ron just gave Harry a hard look. “And what secret would that be Harry?”

  
  


Alira cut in then, as she melted into her natural form. “That Harry Potter’s keeping his dragons down here. My Lord, would you like me to run ahead and get lunch set up?”

  
  


Feeling slightly exasperated, Harry answered her. “Please do. We’ll get our injured taken care of right away, but Dali will need some food. Make sure she doesn’t overwork herself please.”

  
  


With that, she bowed to them, dipping her head to expose her neck and extending her wings above her. “Yes my Lord!” And with that she rushed away, half flying as she dashed.

  
  


Now, his friends were giving him even stranger looks. “What? You know the crazy shit that happens to me, you’ve been there for most of it. Friday night I got a vision that someone needed help, some goddess on their world decided to accept their offering and grant them passage off their world to someplace where they could survive, next thing I know I’m in the Room with a portal and dragons are flying out of it. The first few were pretty banged up too. Heck, Hermione and I spent hours that first night just treating injuries and keeping them calm, they didn’t have it easy growing up. Couple days later we got some more, less scruffy and more cultured.”

  
  


Senas cut in with a snort. “Cultured? Maybe, maybe Aurogos and Dali. The rest of us? My Lord, I told my commander to go to hell when I found out I only had one sibling left. I’ve been ignoring orders for almost twenty years. Luckily any sensible dragon knows healers tend to be easy, squishy, high-value targets in war, so they’ve let me be. Are you going to warn your friends about Stine or should I?”

  
  


Harry pinched his nose as they kept moving. “Okay, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Tonks: I have a band of dragons down here. They’re fully sentient, thinking creatures that have a natural form like you saw Alira run off in. They also have something _similar_ to the animagus transformation, where they search within themselves or something and get a form that has thumbs and can usually go shopping without people screaming ‘Oh god! It’s a dragon! Call the army! Call the guard! It wants to buy a side of beef and some torches for its cave, we must kill it!’” 

Harry pointedly ignored Senas openly laughing at his side. “Stine, a Bronze Dragon, decided to have a form that would actually attract _more_ notice if he went out for a stroll in the halls. He’s an orange tiger-centaur creature called a Tol’Vir. He thinks they’re awesome. And I admit, if I had one for an animagus form, I’d be using it all the time myself. Um, the only other shocking thing would be that Vespiona, Ralion’s sister, has the form of a blue goat woman. Apparently it’s called a Draenei, and I still can’t square the fact that her form is the same species as the male I saw a few days ago. Damn, that feels like months ago now.”

  
  


Again breaking in, Senas chuckled before speaking. “That would be the two-month plus waking dream where you taught us to speak English and we all learned mental defenses. Plus we shared our tragic backstories. And I say that in jest, but I think Hermione was the only one with an even slightly happy childhood. I’d take not having any friends over almost all my siblings dead, unless that meant I forgot about them.”

  
  


Ron, who had briefly tried to imagine life if he’d lost all his brothers was pale. “What happened? I can’t even imagine something so terrible...”

  
  


Looking at the red-head, and approving of the color, Senastrasz gave him a short summary. “Our world has been invaded a bunch of times. The first time we got these giant parasites that corrupt living things and can’t be killed, they are why we’re here. The second time, demons invaded, and we lost four-fifths of the landmass and countless lives. The third time, the demons got these creatures called Orcs to go first and kill everything they could. The Red Dragonflight wasn’t ready.

  
  


“Our Aspect, the Dragon Queen Alexstrasza, was captured and the orcs used a stolen artifact from the demon invasion ten-thousand years ago to control her, and through her take control of every member of her flight except those who had the force of will, life experience, and personal power to fight back. I wasn’t one of those, another couple hundred years and maybe I could have, but there was no contest. I’ll never forget the violation of carrying an orc into battle on my back in a _saddle_. He made me chase a human woman and her child as they fled a village the Orcs were burning, told me if I let them go he’d make me watch a dozen children of my kind die slowly. I hunted down the fleeing pair, despite making every tracking mistake I could. Just before I had to choose to kill them or not, the orc got an arrow through his skull.

  
  


“ I told the force that found me everything I could, but I couldn’t not fight. I was taken alive and spent the rest of the war, and the time after till our queen was freed healing injuries at a hospital in exchange for my food. You see, I wasn’t allowed to let myself die, and I told them how to exploit that.

  
  


“ When I was freed, thankfully someone remembered to come tell the humans I was safe; you see believing someone under mind control that they’re suddenly free is a horrible idea. I got back to where my people lived and found all my siblings, save one, and most of my friends dead. I was so happy to find Dali alive, you have no idea, and I hope you never do Ronald. She was kept out of the war, and if I ever find out who did that I’ll owe them a debt I can’t ever repay. Always appreciate your family. You’ll,” Here the Red choked a bit. “you’ll never know how much you’ll miss them till they’re gone.”

  
  


Harry couldn’t help reaching over and wrapping an arm around the taller ‘man’s’ shoulders, Ron doing the same thing, unable and unwilling to imagine the horror of discovering his family dead. His other arm grabbed his little sister and held her close, despite her protests. They stood there for a few moments outside the inner door to the Chamber before Senas cleared his throat. “Thank you. Let’s get in before Alira comes looking. ( _Đ:) Open!_ Got to love the Draconic Parseltongue crossover. Oh god, that smells delicious! Dobby is the best damn elf I swear to the Titans!”

  
  


All of them filed in  before helping the twins and Dali out of the trunk. Harry helped remove Ralion, because he still needed the rune charged often, while Hermione would be safe where she was for now.  The Weasley family had a quiet moment with a group hug, Ron and Ginny just telling their brothers how glad they were their family made it through the morning.  Quickly, he introduced the group to Talion, Caliona, Stine, and Vespiona. There was indeed a nice spread, set out on a very impressive oak dining table. Harry decided not to ask where it came from, as he honestly didn’t care if it was stolen as long as it came from Voldemort’s supporters. He had fun telling Ron what each dish was.

  
  


“ No, those aren’t dumplings! They’re flavored bones. Those are hearts, Dobby’s gotten good at them, try if you want but you might want to avoid the spicy ones unless you can breathe fire.” Ron actually did enjoy a smoked cow heart to everyone’s surprise. No one that wasn’t a carnivore seemed to enjoy it besides him sadly.

  
  


Andromeda decided to excuse the poor table manners because the children had just fought against a dark lord in pitched battle and not died. When she had been called to Hogwarts as part of an emergency summons for a potential mass-casualty event, she had been so very, very worried. Thankfully it seemed to have ended with no deaths, just a lot of forkings, assuming ‘Ralion’ pulled through. She was not at all worried at leaving the cases above to the other healers, there were tons of them all over the castle now. Harry’s group needed someone trustworthy, so here she was.

  
  


When the Green dragon saw that she wasn’t eating much (Unlike those living in the castle, the healer had eaten breakfast.) Andromeda accepted her invitation to take a look at some toxins from Harry, finding his raging blush very curious. After giving her respects to Sirius, who was on mirror call now, talking to the students, she realized why when the toxin sample turned out to be a preserved semen sample.

  
  


Her outrage was mollified somewhat when the dragon explained  her usual method for removing, say a snake’s venom, involved a splash of blood, but Harry had so many things in his system she’d have had to exsanguinate the boy twice and not get all of it. So, having to get creative she used a few stories that Andromeda would consider belonging in a naughty nurse sexual fantasy to begin removing the toxins. When she went on to add in the health and mental benefits of the procedure, Andromeda was a little out of her depth arguing against it. Especially when the drake admitted that something she hoped to accomplish was Harry feeling like he was worth the attention she was freely heaping on him.

  
  


As they discussed the rest of the treatments the boy had been given, the life-fire intrigued her professionally. Alira admitted they had a much stronger source of it in stasis, along with a number of their children, but were hesitant to bring them out before a food supply was ready. As a mother, Andromeda certainly knew how much pregnant women and kids could eat. Between the two of them they started to plan the treatments for everyone down here. “Call me Andy if you wish, we’re both healers of a sort. Do you have a place for brewing potions? I can get started on some strong purging potions after I call my elf. If we bring in my husband, he can help with the potions. He’s been a great help when I’ve needed him over the years, and I’m afraid we’re going to need a lot of purging potions in this school.”

  
  


Between the two house-elves that were willing to help, Ted was soon introduced to everyone, taking the dragons in stride but the Tol’Vir that had gone back to helping render the Basilisk less so. When Sirius had mentioned  the possible goose-chase Remus was on, (And yes, Sirius had contacted Remus to tell him that Albus had been possessed by something but everything was fine! Really! Now just go find what you’re looking for and come back, but possibly not to Number 12.) Ted had decided he wanted to look into the animagus transformation if he could turn into a tiger centaur.

  
  


In other news, the Order had been mostly at headquarters that morning, and between the house wards, Sirius, and a crazy little house elf, had been stuffed into expanded boxes with instructions on how to spell their own amenities.  The boxes were behind apparition and portkey wards near the ruins of Potter Manor. They were  _ not happy _ , but helpless as upon leaving the trunks to remove the wards, they became disoriented and were quickly stunned and tossed back into the box. Dora Tonks had been given one of the few purge potions on hand and instructed by her mother to help Sirius. The elves had been busy but had gotten her what she needed to remember the secret, along with the note that she now had the ability to betray Harry Potter, but if she did her life would be short and unpleasant. Dali was usually the best with words, but Aurogos had elevated threats to a form of art.

  
  


While much preferring mischief potions, the Weasley twins were happy to help brew the needed potions. Half were sent to Sirius to get some Order members on their feet, including a frantic Molly Weasley that Sirius  honestly  just wanted to make someone else’s problem. Ginny was  violently unhappy when she was tapped to head upstairs to placate her mother, even though she was a little glad to get out of the Chamber.

  
  


(Molly was glad to hear that Ron was helping out Harry,  just being there for him. When she heard  the twins were helping Healer Tonks produce the needed potions, she felt a deep well of pride  in them . Medical Grade potions were, by definition, nearly perfect. If  their joke shop failed to pan out, such skilled brewers would always find work.)

  
  


Molly still wanted to see Harry for herself, and did explode when told he was otherwise occupied. Hogwarts was now considered a crime scene, and dinner was served in the common rooms and was gone over with a series of spells that would have made Alastor Moody proud if he had actually been a teacher the previous year.

  
  


Night fell, and Draco reported to his father that Salonar had disappeared earlier that day after being introduced to the best warding prospects in the castle. After some thought, both agreed that he had likely decided to secure the castle, not trusting the Ministry to do it correctly. And since Draco was still in the Castle where Dumbledore was the Headmaster, he wished the teen good luck in his efforts.

  
  


Only those under a potion slept well in the castle that night. Much of the night was passed in quiet conversations where students discussed mortality, morality, and how their perception of the world had changed. Fighting alongside every other house, every other student, alongside Potter and the Malfoys and the newcomers… It made one realize how petty some of their divisions truly were. Badger, Lion, Raven or Snake, they had all nearly died this day.

  
  


Inside the chamber, purging potions were administered and were found to be effective for some. Harry didn’t register much of a difference sadly, the substances within him protecting each other from the purge in a strange balance. He did end up blushing as he followed Alira into the medical area for another ‘treatment’ while Ron and the twins got rid of the trust potions in a truly unpleasant fashion. Andromeda had made several trips up, Stine volunteering to carry the completed potions as far as the bathroom. She didn’t expect to make conversation with him, but didn’t mind speaking with an immigrant from another world.

  
  


“ Honestly? I’ll take any distraction I can to take a break from cutting up that snake. Bronze magic is keeping the thing preserved so I actually have to do most of it. We’ve made some wands out of the heart, and armor from the hide. Most of the meat will make a good introduction to the whelps in storage, ‘Here’s our new leader, look at the big snake he killed, come eat.’ Is probably about the best way to break it to them that Tendrion didn’t make it. 

“I heard that the young ones adored him after a couple days; he was the leader of the group that saved them. You should ask Caliona or Talion if you’re curious about the whole story, though parts of it are pretty depressing. Aurogos is running around the castle doing something, I think the twins said he’s got three Ancient Runes students skilled with wards with him. My guess? He doesn’t want Albus able to get inside the castle if he can help it.”

  
  


When she exited the Fideliused bathroom Andromeda discovered that reporters and Aurors knew she had stepped out of view with Harry Potter and several of the new faces. Suddenly finding herself disseminating information, Andromeda reported that Harry Potter was being treated for magical exhaustion and a variety of potion effects and was expected to recover. When the Daily Prophet asked about Ms Granger, she had said that the young woman remained in stasis for the moment, and she hoped to have an update on her condition tomorrow.

  
  


She also said that the young man that was the first reported dragon animagus was expected to fully recover, but that was expected to take at least a week. By now, pensieve memories had been viewed of the entire battle and more questions were being asked about how he had weakened the Fiendfyre enough for Harry Potter to destroy it. Andromeda had no information on that, she could only say that he was in rather rough shape afterwards. (Those who had watched the memories could only cringe, those were not happy sounds the young man made while fighting the cursed flames.)

  
  


When the Ministry demanded their healers be allowed to see Harry Potter, Andromeda had refused, citing that she was a fully-accredited healer and mind-healer, in addition to being a relative of Harry Potter through his Grandmother. She also said that the boy trusted her, and trust was essential to the treatments he required. Andromeda also praised her husband and Fred and George Weasley for their work around the cauldrons, producing the high-grade purging potions that were so desperately needed. Eventually, Molly Weasley had pushed her way forward and asked about her son Ron; she was told that he was helping Harry through this difficult time after enduring a purging potion.

  
  


At that point, she handed the box of verified Healer’s Grade potions off to the healer leading the operation to get all the students cleaned out. Andromeda told the older man that she had four skilled brewers and as many cauldrons as they could handle ready to brew if he needed anything else made. 

As she turned to begin a merry goose chase that would involve a secret passage on the fourth floor leading to the second and back into the Fideliused bathroom, there was one last question about what Harry thought Britain should do about Dumbledore. Andromeda paused a moment, Harry had been rather vocal about that as he felt the sting of betrayal.

  
  


“ In remembrance of the great man Albus once was, Harry would ask that the Headmaster be put down swiftly and humanely before the man manages to kill anyone. I’m not sure any of us will ever know when Albus began down this path, but perhaps it is best to simply eliminate the threat before he tarnishes his own legacy with a massacre like he attempted this morning. No good man would want to be remembered for killing a school filled with children. Harry will likely not be ready to give interviews for some time I expect, and we would appreciate the press and Ministry giving him time to order himself. Thank you.”

  
  


When Andy reached the chamber again, she found both ice blocks out, and the students and dragons sleeping near them. Ted had transfigured a bed for the two of them, as well as appropriate sleeping attire. “Have a good time with the vultures Andy? Vespiona is taking the first watch, we saw you get swarmed. Here, we might as well sleep in the open for now too. I think that with everything they’ve been through, sleeping together like that should be soothing. It’s interesting watching them in a pile like that, I was talking to Stine, he said it was comforting for them. He started to wax on about his youth, how his ‘clutch’ would wear themselves out playing in the desert sun and then sleep in a pile in the shade.”

  
  


Together, they moved to the fully modern bath and shower room just off the main study. (Between several magicals skilled with transfiguration and a very helpful house elf, this room had seen its first remodel since  Slytherin himself walked the halls.) Thinking aloud as she began her nightly rituals, Andy aired her thoughts. “And it gives them comfort, physical touch. Possibly more so than humans even. Have you seen the way they brush against each other, as if they’re reaffirming they’re still here? And that’s not even counting the green one.” She said after ensuring Ted and herself wouldn’t be overheard as they showered together. “She’s especially touch oriented.”

  
  


“ I learned a little more about them while you were busy today Andy. Apparently all the ones we’ve seen today are considered teenagers in their culture. The ‘Drake’ stage of development is the time they use to choose a career and they usually end up apprenticed under an older dragon. 

“Alira was training to become a Broodmother, a career which is essentially a professional mother. It leans much more towards rearing than birthing though. Her personality would seem to be a good one for comforting small ones. There were two groups, before they came here to our world. Alira was considered the ‘little sister’ of the second group. Essentially war came and she got drafted along with the rest of them. Apparently, both groups were working to keep her alive. She’s no fighter though, and some of the things she saw really shook her up.”

  
  


“ What sort of things Ted? If they’ve told you.”

  
  


“ Heh, some of them are positively chatty Love. And the others are making an effort to learn to socialize. The one they mentioned was probably what caused the most damage. Now, Alira was learning how to care for their children, and she would have been doing that while working under an experienced Broodmother, meaning she was learning by doing. The second group was hunting down remnants of an opposing army, and at one point followed a trail into a cave. They had taken at least a dozen of the ‘child’ dragons in there, the cult they were fighting. Now, their enemy was a Twilight Cult, which were humans and others that had chosen to join, and Twilight Dragons, which were kidnapped as eggs and very forcefully brainwashed.

  
  


“ When they broke into the cave, there were dead ‘whelps’ everywhere. Rather than let the whelps be freed the cultists killed them. And then the kicker. There were as many Twilight Whelps as the others dead in there. The cultists knew that the other dragons wanted to find a way to save them, and just decided to kill them too. No one argued when Aurogos ordered them drug out of the cave, interrogated to within an inch of their lives, healed, then burned alive on the bonfire they used to cremate the whelps, theirs and the Twilight both. She wasn’t the same after, but they’ve said she’s doing better here. Harry apparently makes her feel safe.”

  
  


A few tears rolled down Andromeda’s cheeks as she stood under the water. That was truly awful, and she’d seen a lot of awful things during the last war. While the Death Eaters didn’t spare children, they didn’t generally target them either, not unless they were old enough to fight. “If she were a human girl, I’d encourage attachment but not obsession in her case.

  
  


“ I was told about how they’ve bound themselves to Harry, it’s a two way bond. If that boy wasn’t leader material to begin with the magic is going to warp him until he is. I don’t know what kind of negative effects it might have, but there is a positive in that the bond is giving him purpose. That will see him through a lot. What do you think of his mental state Ted?”

  
  


As the two shared an intimate, but not really sexual moment washing each other Andy was never more glad her husband had supported her when she became a healer, then eventually a mind-healer as well. He’d joined her in taking most of the oaths and learning as much as he could too. While he wasn’t a true mind-healer, Ted was better learned than most muggle counselors, and helped with patients that found it difficult to talk to a woman. At other times, he ran a small business helping magicals navigate the muggle world.

  
  


Thinking for a moment, Ted gave his thoughts slowly. “Right now he’s in a lot of pain, probably has a lot of trouble trusting people too. It might end up a blessing that he’s surrounded with people that _can’t_ betray him. To be honest, they’re all messed up in some way. Even Ron has problems comparing himself to his brothers. I think as long as they lean on each other they can all heal.

  
  


“ On a note I hate to bring up, with Albus playing mind games with the boy, is there any chance You-Know-Who is still dead?” Feeling his wife flinch and shake her head, he knew things were going to get bad in the time to come. Albus, insane or not, was someone Voldemort feared. Without that fear… 

“Well, let’s just focus on getting the kids healthy. While it could use a few things, this isn’t the worst hideout I’ve ever seen. Plus, there’s something ironic about hiding from _him_ in Slytherin’s personal chamber.”

  
  


Later, dry and wearing much more to bed than they had in years, the married couple adjusted their bed, chuckling at the mess of teens and dragons curled together across the way. Ted watched Talion stretch and wake Dali before taking his place at that wonderful Marauder’s map. Dali, seeming to luxuriate in her natural form, quickly checked the translucent ice block, charging it with more of her healing power, before sliding back into the pile. Oddly, the pile was shifting without those within being truly awake now that the main heat source was taking his turn at watch. Shaking his head with a chuckle, Ted slipped into bed and held his wife close as they both fell asleep.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

A/N: Ninja-looting is a practice from the early days of World of Warcraft where you would work with a group to kill a monster, some of them requiring forty players back then, and then steal or renege on agreements about the loot.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and all the reviews made me happy! Well over 100 on all sites now : ) 

  
  


  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  



	12. Chapter 12: Headmaster

I own neither Harry Potter or Warcraft. 

A note: In this fic, a creature that lives 10,000+ years matures at a slower rate than one that lives 100 or so. Harry Potter’s drakes have mental maturity in the range of a 15-18 year old human. Granted the war, loss, and bloodshed has had an impact on them also. 

Drakes are teenage dragons, in Elune’s Pebble and Blizzard Cannon.

  
  


Chapter 12: Headmaster

  
  


After the previous day, no one in the castle woke early. Eventually though, nature called, and habit asserted itself. Aurogos awoke to a whispered conversation and it didn’t take him long to realize that he had shifted during the night, exposing a common morning condition among males of many species. Thankfully, he could hear from his breathing patterns that Jason was still asleep.

  
  


Sighing as he forced himself awake fully, as soon as he was fully aware he shifted himself into his other shape. Looking at the startled teens, he tried to reassure them. “I’m sorry about that. Some of the discussions last night brought up pleasant memories. Did you two get enough sleep?” 

He saw the nods of their bright red faces and found himself thinking the blushes were rather cute. Perhaps he had grieved long enough? He would never forget, but maybe he could move on.

  
  


“ Good, wake Jason. Castle? An Elf please.” As requested, an elf in the Hogwarts uniform showed up. “Elf, I need a trunk that’s in good shape from the Room of Requirement. Can you sense what I am?.”

  
  


“ Yes Headmaster Draggy. We’s knows yous not human. But wes serves you since yous the Headmaster.”

  
  


Smiling at the elf, Aurogon finished his chain of commands. “I’m very happy to have your loyalty. After you leave here, I also want you to gather all the elves together and tell them that my not being a human must remain a secret. I could be chased out of the castle if the humans find out, and there’s so much I want to teach the students about magic. Make sure any elf that enters the castle that isn’t Dobby the free elf or Kreacher of the Black Family either doesn’t learn, or can’t tell okay? I’m going to be relying on the house-elves of the castle a lot in the days to come, we have a lot of work to do together. Is there anything you need or any questions you want to ask me?”

  
  


S tammering, the female elf shook her head wildly, throwing her ears about. “No Headmaster! We’s not be needing anything or having questions.”

  
  


“ Okay. I want the elves to know they can come to me if they need something or need an order clarified. I want the elves of this castle to be the healthiest, strongest, smartest elves in the world, and I want everyone to know it. Go about your business.” The elf immediately popped away after that. Only a moment later, a trunk in good repair appeared at his feet.

  
  


Naomi spoke first. “Wow, laying it on a little thick there,  _ Headmaster _ ?”

  
  


Aurogon snorted. “I didn’t lie. House-elves are strange little creatures, but they have their own pride. I’m not about to short them praise when they do so much. Anyone with power over others that doesn’t want the best for them doesn’t deserve it in the first place. Use the restroom down the hall if you need, I’m going to be casting an expansion charm on this trunk. You three will need to ride in it for a bit, there’s a Fidelius in effect between us and my supplies.”

  
  


Not long after, the three were standing to the side as he finished casting the charm and ensuring the charm was stable. “Can you transfigure a ladder and whatever furniture you want? It is still early, but there’s a lot to do today.”

  
  


Within a few moments his Dragonsworn hopefuls were seated in the trunk and the room unsealed. Aurogon quickly made for the closest staircase, and it was nice to watch them rearrange themselves for his convenience. Ten minutes later and he was walking into the Chamber of Secrets. He was surprised how many people were just now rising from sleep down here.

  
  


Though he needed his supplies, he stopped to bow in his human form before his Lord. “Good morning Harry. I apologize for not returning, but I had an opportunity to remove the wards from Dumbledore’s control. I collected the best students in the castle in the field of warding, and I took control of the other three stones. Albus Dumbledore is no longer welcome at Hogwarts, and the castle, along with the elves, recognizes me as Headmaster.”

  
  


Harry was impressed. “Well done, um, rise? You don’t need to bow to me, really.”

  
  


Aurogon just smiled as he rose. “I know my Lord. Sadly, there was a small complication, and three students were present when the last wardstone acknowledged me as Aurogos of the Blue Dragonflight, along with the world where I was born. I offered the three a place as my Dragonsworn, to keep the secret and they agreed. I’ll give them one last chance to back out, but I think the benefits of the position have convinced them.”

  
  


“ Dragonsworn? I don’t think we’ve discussed that term yet. What did you offer them?” By now, much of the rest of the Chamber was listening in, very curious as to what was going on.

  
  


“ We probably haven’t mentioned it yet my Lord, it isn’t a very common practice, though some Flights use it more than others. A Dragonsworn gives their service to a Dragonflight or individual dragon in exchange for knowledge, long life, the eventual ability to speak Draconic, and stronger magic over time.”

  
  


One of the Weasley twins, it was too early to be sure which, let out an impressed whistle. “Any chance you can bottle that stuff? How much power? And how long a life?”

  
  


Aurogon responded quickly. “No, it really varies a  _ lot,  _ and roughly a thousand years for a human with an expected life span of eighty years. These three will probably live longer, but I’m just not sure how much yet. They’ll be useful as we repair and enhance the wards my Lord; if nothing else they really are skilled. The only downside is I will be providing protection for their families if they want, but I doubt you would have a problem with that.

  
  


“ Also, I need to work out a way to send a message through the portal. You see, I left a book I will need for some of the Dragonsworn magic behind because I never expected to need it. It was written by a dragon that was arrogant and very convinced of his own humor, but it remains the definitive work on that subject of magic. In fact, Senegos might be willing to send the rest of my collection as well. I didn’t have a huge horde of magical objects, but I do have a few shiny things lying around.”

  
  


Ron looked at Harry. “Do you think Hedwig could handle it? She could be the first owl post delivery between worlds!”

  
  


Harry sighed. “I think she’d get angry if I didn’t give her the chance. I haven’t even seen her since this started. Aurogos, go ahead and act as you see fit. We’ll get my owl to the portal later, I’d like her to have a few protection charms at least.”

  
  


With that said, Aurogos moved over to the storage room, quickly finding his pack and setting to work. Normally, an oathstone would require much more time to craft, but he really didn’t have time to spare. In any case, this was something he’d done before, including all the imperfect attempts he’d thrown away. With what he needed, he stepped down into the trunk and spread out his tools onto a table. He showed the three teens the rocks in his hands. There were various stones that could be used, but for these three he had chosen a magically infused blue granite mined from the area surrounding his Flight’s main settlement.

  
  


“ Okay, you three, I’m going to be carving the oathstones now. If you decide you don’t want to join me, I’ll get you out of here after you make a binding agreement to keep my secret. Don’t try to run if you get cold feet, there’s seven other dragons up there and some of them are kind of twitchy right now. We’re secure down here with two doors that require a magical language and a Fidelius over the only exit.

  
  


“ Now, a little more information while I carve these. First, do not let anyone know what you are. My magic will be ‘nudging’ yours to make it grow and if you end up in the Department of Mysteries getting dissected, we don’t have the resources yet to rescue you yet. Same with going against either Dark Lord. Secondly, we will be protecting your families as best we can. Jason was right, there is a storm coming, and the best thing we can do right now is to make this school a rock on which every storm will break. We’ll be upgrading your families wardstones, or supplying them as needed.

  
  


“ Third, as far as relationships go, you’re free to ‘follow your heart’ as long as you don’t compromise any secrets in doing so. Three Dragonsworn is already a little much for me, but one of the other dragons can offer this deal to a mate of yours so they share your longer lives as well.” There, Jason’s stone was finished. Just the standard effects, with another that would let his ‘patron’ know if he was in danger. He’d include that on the girl’s as well.

  
  


“ Something else you should know. After a century or so, you will start to resemble my true form more and more.”  _ Hmm, what else to include on theirs… Remembering that dream and how I woke, perhaps something to control their fertility? If they choose to lay with me, now would be a bad time to have little Dragonspawn running around. Easy enough to add, I’ll default it so they can’t get pregnant right now, but if I die or they decide to start a family they’ll be able to. Perhaps something to stabilize their bodies to prevent pain and discomfort from their reproductive cycles? Hmm, dampening pain is always dangerous, it's safer to prevent it. Hmm, just have it use their magic to minimize discomfort then. _

  
  


_ What else? I can add something to help them stay in the peak of fitness, and add that to Jason’s too. How to do that? Nudge their bodies to keep positive physical changes and reject the bad? That would let them build muscles and not lose them, well lose them easily anyway. I don’t think there’s anything else I can add right now.  _ Coming out of his near trance, he saw the three looking at him with clear respect. They had seen him carving runes with a clawed finger sparking with magic, and modifying them on the fly. Then he went back and added a whole subset to the first stone, as if doing that without unbalancing the whole sequence was no big deal.

  
  


“ I added a few things to the oathstones. I can only add a few permanent effects with it, so I was rather limited. All three stones, when used, will attach a permanent tracking charm to you. More importantly, the magic includes a portion that will alert me when you are in danger. Also, all the stones contain a set that will help keep you fit. A strong body helps give you strong magic, so the second effect will keep you strong and fit. Essentially it prevents the normal deterioration of muscles when you stop pushing yourself.

  
  


“ It isn’t completely effective on its own, but it should help. There’s two other effects on the stones for Naomi and Sarah; you should enjoy the additions but I’ll discuss them later. I will warn you, this is the last chance to back out, once the oath is taken it cannot be reversed.”

  
  


Becoming very serious, and retaking his true form, Aurogos handed each of the teens a small stone, carved with the individual in his mind. “Jason Atreides, Naomi Lyon, Sarah Summerland. The stones you carry contain a binding oath, service to me for the rest of your mortal lives in exchange for my boons and protection.

  
  


“ The Blue Dragonflight of Azeroth was charged with the protection of Magic itself. Our tasks have been many, from maintaining the ley-lines that are the very pulse of the world to keeping certain magics away from those who would be destroyed by them. Now, my task on this world is the teaching of Magic, of showing students it’s mysteries and majesty. If your choice is to stand with me as helpers for the centuries to come, place the stones on your flesh above your heart and repeat after me. ‘I do hereby accept the oath upon this stone. I swear to give my service as it is demanded of me until my final breath, so shall it be.”

  
  


Each of them said the words as guided, and the stones shattered in a pulse of magic. A small shard broke off of each and entered their flesh. Azure symbols appeared on their skin above their hearts, runic markings that formed a single word in Draconic: Sworn.

  
  


Aurogos stood proud in front of them as they fell to their knees, covered in sweat and shaking as they felt the first tendrils of draconic magic snake through their flesh. It wasn’t painful, though in the past it was described as excruciating. That _wasn’t_ the first impression most wanted for their Dragonsworn, so the process was improved. The drake could feel a sliver of their magic touch him as well; he smiled at the impression of each of them, so eager to learn what he would teach them, so enamored with studying magic for its own sake.

  
  


He’d guessed that already, their chosen paths and the time they’d spent studying were proof, but it was nice to know he had been right. He could feel a true eagerness coming from them, a drive he could respect. From Sarah and Naomi, something else that made him want to smirk. Perhaps he had been alone for too long. Well, he would first make absolutely clear it was their choice, he would not force them into his bed and would accept rejections.

  
  


“ How do you feel, my Dragonsworn?”

  
  


Jason retook his feet first, flexing his hand several times in near wonder. “I feel strong, like I just drank a pepper-up potion that was made far too potent. This can’t be the way it feels all the time, can it?”

  
  


Laughing as the girls got up, Aurogos smiled, his heart feeling lighter than it had in some time. “I understand that you’ll get used to it. My magic is bolstering yours, and in doing so, your own magic will grow over time. In time, your body will grow stronger as well. You should age normally, if a bit slower than normal, until you reach your peak, that point where to grow older would mean growing weaker. It will be a very long time until you begin to feel the ravages of  old age .”

  
  


His cheer was infectious, and the teens were still smiling themselves, though covered in drying sweat. “Now, my first direct order is this: You will not share, or allow to be taken from your mind, the secret of what you are without my direct permission. The same goes for the other secrets you will see once we leave the trunk and enter the Chamber of Secrets.”

  
  


He paused at the awed looks around him, especially the one on Jason. “What? We needed a hiding place here, and no one was using the space. My second command is this: You will not be influenced by any form of compulsion or mental effect, save the Dragonsworn oath. My third command is this: You will only obey orders which are intended as orders, you will ask for clarification if needed. That is in case I say something conversationally, or in jest. My fourth and final command is this: You will come to me if you need something. I will take pride in you three, in your joys and accomplishments. Now, any questions before we see the Chamber?”

  
  


The three teens shook their heads with the looks of those who still haven’t caught up with the recent changes in their lives. Aurogos, told them to head up while he collected his supplies. Quickly, he didn’t want to miss their expressions, he cleaned up his work station along with the dust from the oathstones.

  
  


He did laugh when he stepped out into the main chamber to see the three staring at one thing and then another, not sure what to ask first. They all three quailed at the sight of the Basilisk, but an orange furry creature climbing on it and cutting pieces off the corpse killed the tension there. Alira gilded over, seeming to have become a little antsy on the ground in the last few days, and introduced herself with a slight bow of her head. She seemed excited to have so many people down here, even if it hurt security.

  
  


Spying Harry sitting down to eat, he made his way over. “My Lord, I think I have a plan. I wasn’t intending to be the Headmaster of the school, but the previous one needed to be kept out. Now that I am, I’m considering a drastic reshaping of the curriculum. From what I’ve heard and read, your teachers have nearly made learning magic boring! Snape was neither a good teacher or man, your defense teachers have mostly been terrible, and the teaching in History is only good for catching up on other work.

  
  


“ I think I can convince Lucius Malfoy to back new classes if I’m careful not to let him get too much influence. I want Hogwarts to teach how to work in a magical forge, how to create a true familiar bond, and most of all how to appreciate the majesty of magic! If my guess is right, I can bring you and Draco forward as supposed equals under me, and you can sway the students to your side. At the same time, with a few careful words and a well-known reporter under a contract, we can repair your image and build you up as a future leader.”

  
  


When Harry started to object, Aurogon countered him. “I know you would prefer to simply be a man my Lord. But right now your government is massively corrupt, Voldemort is regaining his power, and the man your world would turn to oppose him tried to murder every student in the school yesterday when his misdeeds were exposed. Your people need a good man to lead them. It is your choice Harry, but I want you to know that every one of your dragons believes you can do it, we’ve talked about it extensively. We believe in you, and will be with you every step of the way.”

  
  


Harry hesitated for a moment. “I, I don’t think I’m leader material. But I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t do everything I could to help. Go ahead with your plans, I trust you.”

  
  


“ For now, the best way forward seems to attempt to keep events moving slowly while we build up power. If you give me six months or a year I can have this castle impregnable by anything either Dark Lord might attempt. We can train you physically, magically, and in how to lead. I think… I think before the Nexus War my old master wanted me to be his successor, maybe the replacement Blue Aspect. I can teach you everything I know, and I will.”

  
  


With that, wanting to leave his Lord to think on his words, Aurogos gathered his Dragonsworn to him and turned to head up. Talion had given them the secret after confirming they were sworn in, so his group was ready to head up. With a wave to Harry, his group left the Chamber.

  
  


Once the inner door closed behind them, Naomi started to laugh. “I should have known Potter was waist-deep in this. I didn’t use to believe the rumors about him, but then I saw Slytherin’s monster being processed. How on Earth did that poor boy get mixed up in this?”

  
  


Aurogos chuckled, finding the humor contagious. “Well, Azeroth is a mess right now. A group of five dragons called on the goddess of the moon, and one in particular offered his unending service in exchange for getting those he cared about to a safe world. About the same moment Elune accepted Tendrion’s offer, Harry Potter had a _very_ strange dream. We owe him greatly for his freely given aid. More than that, I find myself very much looking forward to teaching him everything I know.

  
  


“ Harry Potter is going to be a truly great man if he lives long enough. Not just for his magical potential, believe me, I’ve seen much more powerful humans back home. He is so special because he cares, and even with everything that was done to him, he has a will of steel. If he has a few years to learn what he needs to, your world will have one of its greatest leaders ever.”

  
  


Turning to them as they walked, Aurogos laid out some of his plans. “Today, we’re going to solidify our control over the school. In the days to come, we will be walking the castle, the four of us and hunting down every chink in the wards. I’m not sure why, but there’s a lot constraining them. As long as we don't endanger the students, we will be doing everything we can to let the wards run free. Jason, your first task is to talk to Malfoy, I’m going to be setting him up as the leader of his house, and one of the leaders of the school.

  
  


“ For now, just tell him we had a late night, but we did lock the Headmaster out of the castle. Tell him I have a few tasks left to do before I can come back to the common room, but when I do I need to speak with him, probably just before lunch. I’ll see you in the Slytherin common room, take some time to yourself.” As they reached the top of the stairs, the door was opened and he headed out.

  
  


Smirking, he pulled out a small crystal covered in runes. “Stilly!” When an elf showed up that smelled like he worked around a fair bit of booze, Ralion handed him the crystal. “I need you to take this and place it in the Room of Requirement in an area that has enough room for at least three people to stand side by side, and stand back. I’ll give you a few moments.”

  
  


Turning to the two girls, he smiled. “I don’t know who invented your ‘apparition’ ladies, but the version back home is vastly superior. Stand close please.”

  
  


With that, and a small smile, he wrapped an arm around each of them and focused on the crystal. It contained enough of his magic to act as a handy beacon for a teleport spell. It wasn’t a terribly difficult spell really, but good aim was  _ essential _ . With a dull whooshing sound, the three found themselves in the Room of Requirement, which appeared as a plain brown cube. Taking control of the Room through the wards, he quickly pocketed the crystal. With a bit of will, the Room shifted to the obsidian ritual chamber with the glowing portal to Azeroth.

  
  


He smiled at the girls as he released them and began looking at the magic surrounding the portal, his eyes glowing as he observed the active magic. “Thankfully the portal remains stable. This is the portal to Azeroth, my homeworld. Since there is so much more magic running through the air there, it’s pouring into this world, through the stones and into the ley-lines. With the castle under my control, I can alter the castle a little to encourage the magic to flow faster. That way the castle gains a higher saturation of magic, feeding the magicals who live here.”

  
  


The three spent a few moments in discussion of magical theory while they ate a light breakfast of fruit, toast and eggs. When they were finished, the girls wanted to find a shower, but he stopped them. “Sarah, Naomi, I wanted to talk to you about a few things. First, there were a few things I included in your oathstones that Jason didn’t have. One thing was magic that would lessen the discomforts that are a part of your regular reproductive cycles.

  
  


“ Also, there’s a part of the magic that will prevent pregnancies until it is turned off. That one will function until either you ask me to do so, or until I die.” He watched the two of them have a whispered conversation.

  
  


Eventually, they turned to ask him why he’d done that. Looking into their eyes and speaking seriously, he explained. “The most important part of what we discuss is what I’ll say next. You have the choice of whether or not to share my bed as well as my life. I will not force you, or use anything to alter your mind. That said, your lives going forward will be different.

  
  


“For all the benefits, one downside will be the difficulty you have making lasting connections with others. A relationship with me could provide stability when you need it most. And it would be enjoyable, though I don’t exactly have a wealth of experience, I am a quick study and the thought of seeing my mate writhe under me is very appealing. Not to mention there’s a wealth of spells that can enhance pleasure. The relief of pain, weaved into the rune over your heart was simply a courtesy; while the conception prevention was necessary if you would choose to bed with me. Many spells to prevent conception fail around magical creatures. While I would like children in the future, now isn’t a great time.”

  
  


There was quiet for a moment. Then at his will, the room changed. A large bed appeared on one side, a door at the other. A large pool with a waterfall appeared in front of them. Steam began to fill the room as Aurogos returned to his true form. “I am going to bathe and ‘rest’ for a few hours before I return to my work. Would one, or both, of you ladies care to join me?”

  
  


Sarah was the first one to speak at that. “Both? You want us both at the same time? How would that even work?”

  
  


Smirking, a wide toothy smirk, he replied. “My lovely Dragonsworn, finding that out is half the fun. Now, remember I won’t think less of you two either way.” With that, he stalked into the pool, his tail waving behind him. The two girls looked at each other for a moment, shrugging before beginning to disrobe.

  
  


Aurogos was truly happy as the two teens began to strip. Deciding he ought to be mostly clean before they joined him, he d ove under the warm water, ignoring the instinctual panic that surged through him. Dragons did not belong in deep water, they weren’t made for it. Even when he had learned several spells to allow him to breathe beneath the waves, eventually the instinct that told him to get out of the water, that he would die beneath the surface, would break his concentration and likely kill him. Breaking the surface he walked under the waterfall, enjoying the warmth.

  
  
  


***Explicit adult scene edited out and moved to its own fic on Ao3.***  
  


Again, a blindfolded house elf brought them something to drink. After the small creature left, he began to speak. “That was the best sex I’ve ever had Naomi, thank you. Sarah, though I would love to ravage you right now,  _ I  _ need some time to cool off first. There’s a small problem, you see the only thing keeping my seed from catching in you two is that bit of magic incorporated into the Oathstone.

  
  


“ It’s still active in the rune on your chests, but if I’m not careful, my desire to see you carrying my young will be greater than my desire to remain in control of myself. You are both gorgeous in your own ways, different yes, but most certainly beautiful, and I keep seeing you smiling and visibly pregnant in my mind’s eye. I didn’t actually realize how much I wanted offspring. Now, another command for just the two of you. If you have any concerns or fears about a relationship with me, you will share them with me. A lot of awful feelings can bloom if they’re allowed to fester.”

  
  


Naomi went first, thinking of what she’d guessed from his dominating behavior during their romp. “I think you were hurt by someone that had power over you, my… What is the proper address between us? Anyway, if you’re willing to share, I’d like to know more about what caused you pain so I can help you as we go on. Unless you’ve deceived us, we’re going to be around for a long time, and closer than I expected at first.”

  
  


Grimacing, Aurogos asked the room to provide two globes hanging in front of them. “We don’t have time for a full explanation. This is my home world, as it was before the Demons and the Sundering, and as it exists now. We lost eight tenths of our landmass, and more lives than we could count, whole species were never seen again. You see the three main continents?” Here the globe that had shown a massive continent, lush with lakes, rivers, jungles and plains faded away. It had been shaped from a memory of a single map in Senegos’s private study once. The ancient dragon had been answering a question about what had been lost in the ‘War of the Ancients.’

  
  


“ I was born in Northrend, the Northern one. My Dragonflight, the Blue, had been struck down during the war that ended with the Sundering. One of the five Dragon Aspects, ancient immortal leaders of their Dragonflights empowered by beings called the Titans, betrayed the rest. He tricked the others into crafting a weapon, pouring their very essence into it. In the first engagement with the ‘Dragon Soul’, he turned i t on the Demons,  cleansing that battlefield . Sadly, he didn’t stop there. Our allies, the mortals that we had shed blood with to protect the world, were destroyed as well.

  
  


“My Flight was gifted with  M agic when we were empowered by the Titans, and when we were betrayed, the Blues rose up and attacked the traitor. They died. That dark day, and in the weeks to come, four out of every five Blue dragons perished, either in direct combat or the destruction that followed. Senegos, the ancient dragon I studied under for nearly thirty years, was there that day, and still bears the scars. He was lucky enough to be at the edge of the strike, shielded himself just enough to not die, and landed in some trees afterwards. He always keeps a spell up to hide the scars, but even ten thousand years later, they’re horrific.

  
  


“Malygos, the Aspect of our Flight was injured and driven to madness. Neltharion was his brother, his close friend. Malygos had stood with the fallen Aspect and argued for the creation of the Dragon Soul, so the guilt, the injuries and the residual effects of being struck with warped bits of his own power broke his mind. After the world was broken, even as it began to heal, he never did.

  
  


“Ten-thousand years later, I hatched in the Azure Sanctum, a part of a temple that was once a meeting ground for the five flights, a place of unity.” He paused a moment, gathering his thoughts, looking at his Dragonsworn watching the  memories he hadn’t fully meant to show. They showed the tower of Wyrmrest Temple that was built over the five Sanctums.

  
  


“ I heard stories about some of the dragons at our main city, the Nexus. Probably the best master to study under there had a cruel streak, and her apprentices, especially the talented ones, tended to disappear. So I studied hard and long, and eventually presented myself to Senegos, one of the oldest and wisest dragons alive, requesting to study under him. He accepted me, sparing me life under Saragosa.

  
  


“ Among all the Dragonflights, one thing we share is something called the Flight Bond. It is something that binds us together, gives us unity. It also binds us to the will of our Aspect, whether or not he’s sane. When Neltharion, Aspect of the Black Dragonflight was corrupted, went insane, or just decided to betray all of us, that bond drug his Flight with him. I like to think there were some dissenters among them, some who chose to say no.

  
  


“While the Flight Bond is powerful, it can be resisted if you have a combination of Will, Power, and the Weight of a lived life in sufficient strength. Drakes like me have no chance, but I would bet there were some brave ones among the Blacks. Until they died anyway. My world hasn’t seen an uncorrupted Black Dragon in ten thousand years,” As he said this, a mortal Senegos had been very keen on introducing him to, came to mind. _Wait,_ _ **Ebonhorn**_ _? The only Highmountain Tauren I’ve seen with coal black fur, and_ brown _antlers calls itself Ebonhorn? Might as well wear a sign. “_ as far as I _know_ , anyway.

  
  


“ During what the mortals call the Second War, but really there’s been far, far more than that, a group of invaders found the Dragon Soul, slew its guardian, and later used it to enslave the Red Aspect and her flight. Senastrasz can tell you some stories about that. I didn’t realize it until I spent a lot more time around mortals and the other Flights, but the Flight Bond was affecting us ever since Malygos fell into his madness and despair. You see, we were bonded to each other and our Aspect, and through that bond he was dragging us down with his despair and hopelessness. So long as we had enough genetic diversity left, ten-thousand years should have been enough time for us to replenish our numbers, to regain the strength of our Flight after that horrible blow. But we never did. My kind could never really escape those feelings that flowed through us as long as Malygos lived.

  
  


“ Senegos was one of the few, or the only one perhaps, that saw what was happening. While each Aspect had a Flight to govern, the Lifebinder, the Dragonqueen Alexstrasza had been given leadership over us all. Senegos went to her and pleaded with her to help us, to create a new Aspect by transferring Malygos’s mantle and power to another. Because he couldn’t find a way to do this that would spare her ‘brother’ Alexstrasza denied him, and ignored all his attempts to convince her that we were suffering.

  
  


“ When her guards dragged him out, his last words to her for millennia were a promise that if she didn’t help the Blue Dragonflight she would come to regret it. That our suffering would spread if it was allowed to fester. He tried the other Aspects, but Ysera deferred to the Dragonqueen and Nozdormu said he couldn’t interfere with the timeline in any way.

  
  


“ Anyway, the dragon enclaves often take in children that would have died otherwise to war, famine, or just not having anyone to care for them. When the kids are old enough to make it on their own, they’re given a choice to stay with the dragons that took them in and help us in our tasks or go back to their people. Some of the mortal’s greatest heroes have spent childhoods with our kind. One of Senegos’s friends, a powerful mage, had sent him a crystal that contained all of his town’s children as their nation fell to a massive undead army, his last wish that they be raised among the dragons.”

  
  


Here, the drake took a deep breath, both girls feeling his chest expand, then slowly contract. “During my time at the Azurewing Repose with Senegos, I fell in love with a young elven woman named Valiance Springrunner. I met her when she was thirteen, her kind develop at roughly the same rate as humans but age much more slowly after about twenty years of age. We spent a lot of time together, and she truly came to love her place amongst the Blue Dragonflight, all her fellow orphans as well. We courted through all her teenage years, and we were planning to be together for all our years. I...”

  
  


Here he choked up for a moment. He hadn’t talked about this part of his story to anyone. Senegos knew, but the last time they’d spoken Aurogos had refused to accept that it wasn’t his fault, what had followed. 

“I had carved her oathstone out of a precious gem that I knew she loved. Dragonsworn magic doesn’t make you live forever, but it does add years and years. Her kind reached their old age after three-thousand years, so as my Dragonsworn she could have had a life as long as mine. Then we heard that Malygos, our Dragonflight’s Aspect had woken up, and was aware again. And my mistake killed her along with all of her friends.” Here he closed his eyes as he shed tears. Both ladies moved to comfort him, but he held them in place. It was hard enough to say this much, he needed to finish.

  
  


“ A few days before, we had our last time together alone. I had warded a section of beach and placed a fire pit. It was a glorious day. She had adopted the dragon’s practice of not wearing unneeded clothes, at least in private, and it was all I could do not to bend her over on the sand. I chose to wait because I wanted us both to travel to the Coldarra, to stand before our Aspect, the reason every male Blue Dragon’s name ends in ‘gos.’ I wanted her to be my equal in the service of our Dragonflight. We traveled there, presenting ourselves as loyal servants just in time to join the new war our Aspect declared against every mortal user of magic.

  
  


“ I don’t know if he was in his right mind or not, but it really doesn’t matter in the end. I heard that Senegos had sent a message to the Dragonqueen, an ‘I-told-you-so!’ that involved breaking down into sobs because while we had survived so far on the hope of regaining our pride, our purpose, our strength, that was all dust in the wind now.

  
  


“Senegos simply asked Ysera, the Green Aspect for a few of her brood to keep the Blue dragons he had gathered and watched over for the last ten centuries asleep until the conflict had passed. In exchange, he swore to the temple that if Malygos came for _his_ brood he would kill him at the cost of his life. Aspect or not, imbued with Titan power or not, fighting a user of magic who has spent twenty-thousand years studying magic and fortifying his home is no small thing. ‘Beard a dragon in his lair,’ indeed. Those under his protection, those that had not foolishly gone to celebrate a ‘new day’ for the Blue Dragonflight spent the war asleep in his fortress.

  
  


“There was a chance we could have fought Dalaran, the magical city-state and won, but when our _vaunted_ Aspect began to redirect ley-lines he threatened the entire world. The Red Dragonflight intervened and my Dragonflight found itself in war against every other as well as every mortal user of magic. A good leader would have stopped then, realized he couldn’t win and all he was doing was throwing lives away. Malygos did not.

  
  


“ I lived through that awful, pointless war until a strike force broke into Malygos’s sanctum and slew him. I knew right away when the war had ended, that drive that I couldn’t escape left me, and I abandoned a suicidal charge against the Temple where I’d been born. My fellows might have thought I had gone insane at first, with my laughter, and we were led by a wyrm that could have, should have resisted Malygos, but chose not to. Now free at last, I said what I could to convince them, told the wyrm to go straight to hell, that the war was over and she could go die if she really wanted to, but I was leaving.

  
  


“While I had been forced into service on the front lines, Valiance and the other refugees had been pressed into the Mage Hunters, which is exactly what the group’s name implies. When I reached the Nexus, I found a paladin mourning Keristrasza, a Red dragon that after being tortured by Saragosa, broke free and worked with a mortal to kill her. Malygos decided that since she’d cost him his consort, she would take Saragosa’s place under him. But he didn’t _just_ want to rape her, he was working magic upon her that warped her mind, stole her will, it was even stealing her Dragonflight from her. When the paladin raised his weapon against me, I told him the war was over, and offered to help him lay her to rest.

  
  


“ The fighting had been bad, she’d been dead for weeks and just left to freeze in that room. I helped him burn her body under the stars and we spoke for a brief time; I was trying to build my courage, convince myself that Valiance and the others had somehow broken their oaths to Malygos and fled, that they had stood aside and been spared while mortals broke in and took the mad Aspects newest toy from him. When I told the paladin as he gathered ash from the funeral pyre that I was looking for my friends, he just looked at me with broken eyes and told me he was sorry.

  
  


“ He rode off and I couldn’t hold off my panic any longer. I charged into the halls, there were corpses of the Blue Dragonflight and its servitors everywhere. I found the first of those I sought being eaten by her own hound. I found several more after that, before I found Valiance, long dead and frozen solid. I can’t, I can’t even remember how she died, through the tears I gathered her and the others, broke into the storerooms and used enough priceless alchemical reagents to earn me the ire of every Malygos loyalist forever to burn their corpses in the halls where they died.

  
  


“ When the fires stopped I left and took to the air and flew, not really having a destination in mind. When my wings screamed in agony from overuse, I used magic to keep going. In hindsight, I really ought to have died doing that, flying over the ocean at all is dangerous, there’s a reason dragons have a crippling, instinctual fear of submersion and a lesser one of flying over the water. My body took over a week to heal when I collapsed in front of Senegos, my wings having brought me to what I considered home on their own.

  
  


“ I have a few other old hurts, but that is the one you wanted to know about, sweet and clever Naomi Lyon. Until today I had forgotten how much I was looking forward to having children with Valiance.” With that, he shifted a little and released them. Checking a clock he saw that he still had a few hours with the two before he had to get moving and be composed again.

  
  


Aurogos was surprised when gentle hands started to stroke his face, and realized that he still had tears to shed for Valiance after all. His head was gently pulled into Sarah’s lap, and Naomi wrapped her arms around her neck, both kept up the gentle touches. When Sarah, drawing on lessons she’d taken from her mother dealing with a younger brother, told him to let it out, not to hold onto the pain because it would only fester, the drake started to sob. For his lost love, for all his friends that had died with her in that pointless war, and for his own heart still unable to let go of the burning hatred of a dead dragon even though he knew it was foolish.

  
  


Until he needed to compose himself and head out amongst the students again to further his plans for this place, Aurogos stayed with his Dragonsworn, taking the comfort they wished to give him. Together they returned to the water, as Aurogos introduced them to the draconic custom (necessity) of washing each other. Their time together in the water wasn’t really sexual this time, just the sharing of comfort. Both girls were sore, and Aurogos managed to reestablish his self control as they bathed together. Eventually he was needed elsewhere, as much as he wanted to remain with them for much longer.

  
  


“ Thank you both, Sarah, Naomi, my loyal Dragonsworn. I’ve held that back for  several years now. I should be giving you some token for this, but I would like to court you both. My culture permits that, as long as all parties consent. I will make every effort to keep you content and happy with me for all our time together, whether it be only today or until the stars burn out.

  
  


“ If the next few weeks go well, this castle will become our first stronghold. If it goes poorly, we have a fallback under the Fidelius Charm, and an island that is open to us. If we can keep Talion alive for another ninety years, he’ll be able to raise islands out of the depths, with enough practice. So long as we aren’t careless, we will be safe. And as for the Dark Lords of this land, well...”

  
  


Here he gave his girls a very toothy smirk. “No Blue Dragon worth his scales fears a  _ wizard _ . I have been through two wars, seen fire and bloodshed on a scale neither one of them can imagine, fought against horrors that would freeze the blood of Dumbledore and cause Voldemort to flee this planet.

  
  


“ You two can dress and come down, or you can remain here. This room can access vast amounts of books, and I’ll assign an elf to come when you two are ready to eat. Though I doubt you’ll be very hungry, Sarah. I hope to see you tonight.” With that said, the drake left behind two satisfied teenagers and went about this day’s business, resolving to return to them as soon as he could.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

A/N: Next Chapter will be in two weeks. I’ve had life rear up and spite me lately, I’m getting near the end of what I’ve written. I’m working on the rough draft of 15 right now, but, looking at 13 again large chunks of it need to be shaved off. I hope to go back to putting out a chapter every week soon, but I’d rather put out a good chapter every two.

Many thanks to  hkurtz2013  on FF.net for his continuing editing help.

This is my first adult scene ever read by anyone else. Let me know I did! 


	13. Chapter 13: Roundtable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think I could use some suggestions for tags on this site, while I've been having fun with them, they may not be the most helpful.

I own neither Harry Potter or Warcraft. Dragon OCs are listed at the bottom of the chapter if anyone loses track of them.

A note: After this fic is completed, I plan to immediately go back and edit the entire work. I’ve had some reviews that were less than positive, but I _do_ read and consider them. Like I’ve mentioned before, this is my first real fic. It isn’t going to be a masterpiece like Embers by Vathra or anywhere near as polished without another look after I improve my writing ability. I’m trying to grow as a writer, and I’ll take any criticism that remains constructive, harsh or not.

Chapter five was certainly a mess, I won’t be doing that again. Focusing in on certain characters, keeping others relevant but not in the spotlight is also something I’m working on, hopefully the next few chapters will be better on that front. It seems like my drakes are pulling too much focus, and my original plan had focus on entirely different ones. Eh, something to work on for the future.

So, going forward I’m going to work on putting out a better story. When I’m done and I can look back (Whether that’s in another 100k words or 500k.) I intend to ‘re-shape’ the parts that need it. I’m honestly not sure what I’ll do with Chapter 5, at the time I was hoping to get the backstories for the characters out of the way while establishing them and their places going forward. I was also hoping to provide information regarding the Warcraft setting for those who aren’t familiar. After reading ‘A Dead World’ by Laluzi, with no knowledge of either setting and being able to follow and enjoy a well-written fic with almost no knowledge of either world, that became my goal for crossovers.

Thank you all for reading. Thank you especially to those that choose to review and repay my efforts in writing with help to improve future writing. I am deeply grateful to everyone who is enjoying this, and those who’ve told me where the problems are. To you, here’s chapter 13, which has been vastly edited from the earlier versions.

  
  


  
  


Chapter 13: Roundtable

  
  


Life was strange for Draco Malfoy today. Less than forty-eight hours ago, he found himself encased in a block of ice when he challenged a new student with admittedly near lethal curses. Then, he had watched through a slightly blurry lens as his Head of House mentally assaulted the same student, who left to find a healer after advising all of Slytherin House to guard the block of ice containing him, lest someone alter it and kill him. Though unable to see or hear all of the confrontation with the Headmaster, he truly began to panic when all around him, students began to collapse, stunned.

  
  


Then the Headmaster had examined the block of ice and said, to Draco himself apparently, how awful it was to lose a student so young before they had redeemed themselves. That was a good enough reason to truly panic in his opinion. Then spells started and he could no longer hear or see outside, and his mind spent the next few hours deep in panic, rather certain he was about to die. Then, he didn’t. Salonar managed to break the magic the Headmaster had layered on top of the ice stasis spell and soon after the ice exploded outwards and he was free.

  
  


Salonar had apologized for a wand-measuring contest that got out of hand. Draco had believed his tale of the spell being used when fights got out of hand, being forced to look at another block of ice with an opponent inside for hours would give pause to future conflicts. To be honest, he was so glad to be alive he didn’t even mind the hit his reputation had taken among his fellow Slytherins. Salonar was clearly a powerful wizard, the way he’d come close to ending Dumbledore was proof. And it had been close, if not for the Headmaster’s hidden animagus form, he would have been killed.

  
  


Potter, as much as it burned him to admit it, had proven his power as well. It was shameful what Dumbledore had done to such a powerful magical, not the least allowing him to be beaten by muggles and worked like a house elf. When Potter had forgotten about the rest of the room and screamed at the Headmaster about having to steal bread just to keep his strength up for the next day… Well, it was no wonder he had been so uncultured. If the Headmaster, who his father had informed him had gone to many lengths to secure his place as Potter’s guardian, had been so hellbent on keeping Potter uninformed and weak… Hell, even the choice of sending the groundskeeper to introduce him to the magical world was a massive insult, showing the boy he didn’t deserve a Professor or even someone intelligent.

  
  


Looking around the common room, Draco had a sense that events were in flux. Everyone was shaken badly by the events of yesterday morning. He smirked at the day’s Prophet. Yesterday, the leading story was written by Rita Skeeter, returning to prominence. Salonar, and it must have been Salonar, had sent her a memory of the attack by Professor Snape, along with what must have been advice. Obviously, someone had gotten a hold of her and trapped her into an oath or contract that prevented her spewing her lies. Everything in the article on Snape was true, but presented in the worst way to destroy him.

  
  


There had also been a short special edition last night around dinner, spreading the word that Dumbledore had snapped and gone insane, attempting to murder the school when his mental modifications were discovered. It promised a much larger than normal edition today, and they had delivered. Draco would bet his family’s manor that Potter or one of his friends had made a deal with the Prophet, probably either for memories or interviews, because everything written about the boy was either positive or true. And the photos were truly stunning; they were taken from pensieve memories and captured much of the horror and drama of the battle.

  
  


Potter took up much of the coverage, but in this case Draco could say he’d earned it. _He_ wouldn’t be caught dead next to Dumbledore exchanging spell fire. Some of the best photos were Potter throwing away his old wand and drawing a new one with tears in his eyes at the betrayal, Potter pausing in his duel to redirect all the snakes and down two of the Heads as if it was nothing, and Salonar throwing his scythe as it leaked frost on the floor before his friends had gotten out of the way.

  
  


A Photo of Hufflepuff’s new animagus and Potter destroying the Fiendfyre bomb had featured prominently as well. Draco shuddered. At least the photos didn’t come with sound; listening to Elsington scream as he weakened the cursed flames once had been enough. A side article had featured Harry Potter leaning against the ice holding Granger with tears in his eyes, the article speculating wildly about what the Headmaster had done to the girl. Draco didn’t want to imagine what could be wrong with her head; Dumbledore had apparently weighed his decisions on if he was likely or not to get caught, that meant he was free to do what he wanted with muggleborn students.

  
  


Draco’s father had asked him to befriend Salonar, to learn what he could. He was already planning to do that, it seemed only wise. A request to attempt to sway Potter to their side was unexpected, but after that display Draco could see why. When his father suggested that several ailing family lines could be rejuvenated if their Lord was willing, Draco had to admit his father had a point. There was belief in the general supremacy of the pure-blooded and then there was ignoring your own eyes. The Dark Lord had never sired a child as far as they knew, likely having sacrificed his fertility at some point.

Breakfast had been something of an odd affair, the menu was limited, consisting of a lot more fruit than usual and foods like pancakes and waffles prepared under the watchful eyes of a number of prefects. It hadn’t been bad really.

  
  


Draco glanced over to Jason Atreides, the seventh year that had been working with Salonar last night. No students had seen the group after four in the afternoon yesterday, when they’d disappeared into an unknown secret passage in the Ravenclaw area of the castle. Atreides reported that between the four of them, they had locked Dumbledore out of the castle. That was rather impressive, Draco wasn’t even sure how they could have done that.

  
  


Atreides also told him that Salonar was finishing up a few more tasks, but wanted to speak with Draco at the first opportunity, probably just before lunch. This was about the best opportunity he would get to befriend the new student and begin learning his secrets. No matter how hard Draco had pressed the student whose family line bore a long and interesting history (They had actually been fully muggle in the days of ancient Greece, then they started marrying witches into their lines until they were magical for the next thousand years, then their magic died out, but eventually blazed forth again around the founding of Hogwarts. Their family tended towards warding specialists and stonemasons.) he would only say that Salonar had plans, and that Draco would likely approve of them.

  
  


Looking at a clock, he saw that it was nearing when Salonar would walk into the room. If nothing else, this should be interesting.

  
  


***

  
  


‘Aurogon Salonar’ did walk into the room soon after, and he smiled and gave a respectful nod of his head to many in the house as he walked towards Draco.

  
  


“Mr. Malfoy, I would like to speak with you if you have a moment.” When Draco stepped up and shook his hand, the drake smiled. He wasn’t expecting much from the spoiled child, but it seemed the last few days did have an impact after all. “Would you mind putting up a privacy ward? I have an offer for you and your father.”

  
  


Five minutes later Aurogon was excusing himself, saying that he had to check up on his friends and let Granger out of the ice, arranging with Draco to meet his father in the school’s entryway at three-thirty that afternoon. Though tempted to visit his lovely Dragonsworn that the wards told him were still where he had left them, Aurogon cast an invisibility spell on himself when he reached an empty hallway and returned to the Chamber. If there was no better option with Hermione, perhaps he had an idea. It might be uncomfortable for her at first, but it would be a better option than letting her mind be at the whim of the previous Headmaster.

  
  


***

  
  


While those in the Chamber were dismayed that the strongest purging potion they had brewed, while effective in removing the potion induced trust of Dumbledore from the Weasleys, (But sadly not all of the warm feelings associated with him. Indeed, most of the use of the potions wasn’t for the immediate effect but the indoctrination they caused that could last for a lifetime.) did nothing for Harry. Thankfully Alira had reported to the group that her technique continued to drain the foreign substances out of her Lord, and had started performing it twice per day.

  
  


Fred and George found themselves decidedly curious about Harry’s blushes and stuttering every time it was mentioned. A new runic pattern in the ceiling had begun bringing actual sunlight into the central space of the Chamber of Secrets, and between the students and dragons, planters of various medicinal herbs and shrubs had begun to take root.

Even Ron and Ginny, when she returned, had to admit the Chamber was much improved now, though the giant snake which was slowly being harvested down to its skeleton was a reminder of the past. When Ron had asked what they would be doing with the bones, the answer was somewhat concerning. Apparently necromancy is for the lazy who can’t be bothered to properly carve the many necessary runes into bones for magical guardians.

  
  


For Dalistraza and Senastrasz though, the new day found them beginning to flag. Keeping Ralion alive was taking more energy than they expected. When Aurogos returned to the Chamber, looking less burdened than he had been in all the time those present had known him (It was a subtle difference, but noticeable if one knows draconic body language well enough. It was in the way he carried his wings, how his tail was a little higher off the ground than before. There was an obvious clue as to why for those with a predator’s sense of smell.) a meeting was called around the large oak dining table.

  
  


Harry was at the head of the table as the drakes were trying to ease him into a leadership role. When Dalistraza admitted that without help, they would lose Ralion to exhaustion, Harry felt a return of that feeling he had experienced when Ralion had screamed whilst battling against the Fiendfyre. “What do we need to keep him alive? For that matter, what precisely is wrong with him? I thought his flames destroyed magical effects like that locket, was the spell fighting back somehow?”

  
  


Because Ralion was stable for the moment, Vespiona took the second question first. “My Lord, the Twilight Dragonflight was created to be a weapon, we were first made by draining another new species of dragon called Nether, or the Netherwing. Twilight dragons like us have a, a vampiric ability to drain life force or magic from creatures, objects, or spells. Our flames take some of our enemy’s strength and it becomes our own. Remember when he destroyed the locket Ralion said that it was a larger meal than he expected? That’s because it was literally a meal for him.

  
  


“But there is a danger to this ability. Our flames feed us, but our flesh can only hold so much power before it kills us. In the Twilight Highlands, my brother and I saw a Red wyrm brought down by a single Twilight drake through skill and speed. He killed the Red, but then died screaming as his flames forced more power into him than his form could survive. Valistraza would likely be willing to help him, she was close enough with Tendrion that I would bet that if she wasn’t already carrying eggs, she’d be carrying his offspring now.”

  
  


“Alright, do our healers believe they can keep him alive with Valistraza’s help?”

  
  


Dali responded this time, speaking for both healers present. “Yes my Lord. Our magic is forcing his body to accept the power, forcing his flesh to adapt. Alira’s forced him to sleep, otherwise he would be in agony as he got used to it. With a full grown dragon, wyrm or not, we can keep him alive. The only issue would be having enough food around, there are a lot of whelps in stasis.”

  
  


With a look from his Lord, Aurogos returned to his mortal form, prompting all the other dragons to do the same. While he had the loyalty of the castle’s elves so far, he wasn’t willing to take chances if he could help it, and he was cautious about what they might reveal without meaning to. After calling for the house elf in charge of all the others, he introduced himself as the new Headmaster, even though the elf already knew him as Dumbledore’s replacement. When the elf had introduced himself as Belin, Aurogon asked where the elves got the food for the castle. It was something that most students, even most of the staff rarely thought about. Finding out all of the vegetables and meat was entirely grown here, in a greatly expanded wing of the castle, usually accessible only to the castle’s elves was a surprise.

  
  


“Belin, I want you to begin serving less meat to the students, without affecting the nutrition. I want you to retain hearts and livers and some of the bones, and I want the farm to begin producing as much meat as possible. We have some future students coming soon, and they need a lot of meat in their diets. If you can do this without breaking the Statute of Secrecy, I want you to send some elves to the muggle world and learn about new farming techniques, then implement any that would increase the production of food or allow the elves to work less.

  
  


“Don’t worry, I will have plenty of work for them, perhaps too much in fact. I would also like you to assign several elves to collect as much silver as possible from the castle. Don’t steal from the students or staff, but I’m sure in a castle this size there’s junk that’s piled up. I am maintaining the seal on the Headmasters office for the time being, I suspect he left dangerous things there. Also, Professor Snape is suspected of stealing from the castle in addition to assaulting students and being a poor teacher. Is there an elf that can collect everything he owns so we can ensure none of it is stolen?”

  
  


“Yes, Blue Headmaster. Stealy was a _very_ bad elf before he came to Hogwarts, but he can do what you need. Where’s you want silvers put?”

  
  


“In this Chamber, off to the side. Is there anything you need from me? No? Then go about your orders and remember that I am relying on the Castle’s elves.”

  
  


“How long will the meat we have from the Basilisk last once we open that sphere?” Harry kept the meeting moving along, he suspected he already knew why Aurogos wanted the silver, but he would deal with that after a few other matters.

  
  


Here Alira spoke up, as the most knowledgeable on the subject. “At least a full week, perhaps three. Whelps will require more food at some developmental stages, and less at others. I believe we can make use of the forest around the castle as well. Though a healthy forest can only allow so much game to be removed, if we decrease the numbers of predators and I work a little magic around the sources of salt and water we can increase the growth rate of what we need and have a significant amount of meat in the long term. I’m not sure if we can feed seventy-eight whelps with the forest or not, it depends how the animals are doing really.”

  
  


Ron cut in then, wanting to make himself useful. “Hagrid seemed to always have something from the forest hanging in his hut. There’s a decent amount of game out there, but for predators the biggest problem is probably the Acromantula, giant spiders bigger than you guys. Hagrid thinks they’re wonderful, friendly creatures, but they still tried to eat Harry and I back in second year. The old spider that rules the colony keeps his children from attacking Hagrid or the school directly but when Harry and I tried talking to them to prove Hagrid’s innocence, they still tried to eat us. They’re smart enough to speak, and there’s hundreds of them. And… the old spider isn’t doing so great, he probably won’t be around much longer.”

  
  


Aurogos, in his natural form, groaned and let his head rest on the table. “What kind of idiot leaves a menace like that next to a school? Did Hagrid introduce them to a new area here, where there’s apparently nothing to stop them from breeding out of control? Even _I_ know that for an ecosystem to be healthy it needs to have balance. If you put a fast breeding predator like that in and do nothing to stop their spread, eventually they eat all the game and get hungry enough to go after things they shouldn’t. Fuck, I’ll organize something.”

  
  


Looking around the table he saw the humans seemed to understand that something really ought to be done. “I don’t usually kill things if I can help it, but the fact that these things wanted to _eat_ students that had wandered into the forest can’t be ignored. Is there anything else in there that might be dangerous?”

  
  


This led to a short discussion of the creatures seen in the forest, and oddly all eight dragons present scoffed when ‘peaceful centaurs’ were mentioned. Stine, not having had anything to say, spoke up here. “We have centaurs on Azeroth, but they’re a fairly new species. For a thousand years Kalimdor’s been plagued with them. They’re a race that seems to only exist to kill, pillage, and burn. They don’t really craft anything but simple weapons and armor, they don’t farm. They’re the offspring of an earth elemental and Zaetar, the son of Cenarius, and the very first act of their forbears was to murder their father. If the ones here are friendly, they are a completely different creature from the ones on Azeroth. Ours are cannibals, and if you ever encounter them, don’t look too closely at their tents, you _don’t_ want to know what the leather is made out of.”

  
  


Aurogos broke in again. “I can free Hermione at any time. I froze her in a complete stasis spell because Dumbledore was activating a magical trigger of some kind, I recommend that only Harry and Alira be there when she wakes up. Also be prepared to restrain her and take her wand away; while Dumbledore didn’t have the chance to issue _new_ commands, we don’t know what _old_ commands she might or might not be bound to obey. Alira, I have an idea for a last resort to help her, something the Blues created in the past; you can figure out if it is needed. Everyone be ready to stun her if she does something she’d regret.” Harry broke up the meeting then, though he asked to speak to Aurogos for a moment and the Blue drake asked if Alira could join them, having a fair idea what this would be about.

  
  


“Aurogos,” Here, Harry looked right at him, trying to pin the drake with his gaze. “I only want to bind the whelps that need it. I do _not_ desire power over others.”

  
  


Alira surprised all present when she spoke up, stepping forward until her head lay in Harry’s lap after nuzzling him for a moment. “I know my Lord, but that is part of what makes you the best one to have that power. We haven’t mentioned it much, the magic called the Flight Bond, but it is very important to us. You’ve heard of how it has gone wrong with the Blacks, how it made the Blues march to a pointless war and how it brought the Reds under the control of monsters.”

  
  


“But, there’s something we haven’t shared with you, as we’ve been talking amongst ourselves to understand it first. Please understand that none of us are naturally evolved creatures, we were uplifted, empowered. Part of the gift from those that changed us was a deep need to be part of something, part of a greater whole. The Titans bound us together with the rest of our Flights. My lord, when we came here, when we accepted your Lordship over us, your ownership over us, the Flight Bond was shattered and we got something new. We all agree that service under a good man is far superior to devotion to distant gods.”

  
  


Harry started to object, but Alira silenced him by bringing the tip of her wing to his lips. “My Lord, after twenty thousand years, we are what we are. Your bond is better than what I had with my Flight, I know you truly care about every one of us, not just a nebulous unending duty. When those whelps are free, they will _need_ a bond to keep them sane, to prevent terror and panic and possibly death. When Valistraza lays her eggs and they hatch, they will need you as well. The Black and Twilight whelps will need the comfort and purpose of your bond, remember that the first act for many of them was to kill their weaker siblings. I have no idea what the Chromatic whelps will need, but I’ve _never_ heard of a healthy, stable Chromatic dragon.”

  
  


Aurogos chimed in then, having first-hand knowledge of the outlier whelps, the dragons that didn’t have a true Dragonflight and Aspect. “Even the Storm Drakes require something to serve, though they are much freer than the five Flights that were placed under the leadership of an Aspect. I’ve met some of them, they share an island with Senegos and his brood, and they mostly serve the Titan’s ‘Keepers,’ making them servant’s servants. My Lord, they will need you as well, though they may argue at first.

  
  


“After getting to know you better, I regret some of my words when we met. You have not been a disappointment Harry. I wasn’t planning to become the Headmaster of this school but I find myself happier than I’ve been since before the Nexus War. My service to you has been nowhere near as arduous as I expected from my experiences with other mortal users of magic. Another could offer me the title of Aspect of the Blue Flight, dominion over the other Flights as the King of all Dragons, and I would still choose to stay as your oathsworn, Harry Potter.

  
  


“I _felt_ your magic when Ralion faltered, I felt your steel, your rage, the guilt that something was hurting him and _hadn’t_ gone through you first. I choose service to you over Norgannon or any other uncaring god. Harry Potter, my Lord, we are yours. By the intervention of gods, chance, or fate we have found what we need right here.”

  
  


With that, both bowed in their natural forms, exposing their necks and wings in a gesture that was both submission and trust. Harry Potter, a boy that once lived in a cupboard wasn’t really sure how to process the newest turns his life had taken. A lot of effort by the Dursleys and later Dumbledore had gone into making him feel as useless, as unworthy, as small as possible. The teen could begin to see that now. He didn’t really know what he needed to do to heal, but he had healers of vastly different disciplines willing and eager to help him now.

  
  


Harry had not only friends, but willing servants that believed in him. People believing in him… It was a nice feeling to be honest. “If you say I need to bond the whelps, I will. I’m still uncomfortable with all of this, I don’t feel _worthy_ , but I can see how much effort went into keeping me downtrodden now. I want to, I _will_ heal and grow stronger. I want you to help me as you see fit, I’m not even really sure what I need yet.”

  
  


To himself, Harry Potter made a promise: _I will not fail the trust placed in me. I will not fail my friends, those who depend on me, or my family._

  
  


***

  
  


With that, the group moved to the block of ice in which held Hermione Granger. Carefully, the Weasley twins had moved it into a side room with a door after the meeting broke up. When Ron went to follow Harry in, Senas reached out. “Mr. Weasley, I find myself in need of help to forge some silver. Would you like an introductory lesson in magical blacksmithing? Your brothers are still working on potions with Healer Tonks, but Ted has agreed to help us with the molds.” Ron, having felt as off his game as anyone else after yesterday, made a spur of the moment decision that yes, he would like to learn something about magical blacksmithing.

  
  


In another side room, Ron followed the Red drake, now wearing a human form, with the exception of his ears, in and glanced around. There was a fair bit of rune work around the walls and ceiling, and the house elf Dobby was popping in with large loads of silver objects. _Is that every silver sickle ever lost in a Hogwarts couch?_ “There’s a lot of sickle coins in there, they have magical protections on them, they won’t melt down.”

  
  


Senas gave him a wide smile as Ted Tonks, followed by Talion entered the room and closed the door, apparently activating an enchantment that sent a fresh breeze lazily drifting through the room. “Ah my friend with the best color of hair, but does that protection work against a dragon’s flames? If not mine or Talion’s, we’ll call in Vespiona or Caliona, their fires will do what ours can’t. I’m about magically tapped out right now, I charged the rune for Ralion as best I could, but even without using active magic to grant an effect my flames have magical properties.

  
  


“We’re probably going to teach some of the students here to forge magical weapons, but very few of you will get to work with a dragon’s fire. If you get good enough at this, there’s a special kind of weapon you can craft, that requires the blood and flames from a dragon. We’re sending a request with Hedwig for the smithing plans, actually. But for now we’re going to be keeping this simple.

“Ted, can you start by transfiguring a goblet, sized for a small child? First we make the molds, then we’ll break out my smithing tools. We need a total of seventy-nine goblets, most of them will be small, the last one will be sized for an adult dragon. Dobby! Thank you, that’s enough for now, I’ll call for you when I need more. Not bad Ted, but make it a little smaller and more rounded, it doesn’t need to hold that much.”

  
  


When Ted’s third attempt proved good enough, Senas started retrieving his supplies from his personal expanded bag. “Here’s the first lesson that applies to smithing and magical smithing both: Your work will never be perfect, no matter what it could always be better. Learning to recognize the difference between ‘good enough to use’ and ‘melt it down and try again’ is painful both ways. Accepting your ‘masterpiece’ that you’ve sweat and bled into isn’t as good as it could be hurts just as much as knowing your best effort is only useful as scrap.

  
  


“Now, we have my smelting supplies here, and a lot of various silver items, thankfully the hardworking elves have stripped off anything not silver already or we’d need to do it. But first, I’m going to show you how to build a mold. Since this item is small, we’re going to have multiple items in the same mold, Ted can you make me six more cups like this? They don’t need ornamentation, but depict dragons if you’re feeling artsy.

  
  


“Now I’ve heard Hermione talk about magical numbers, but I didn’t pay much attention until Aurogos said there actually are some numbers where equations and spells balanced in odd ways. So for this project, we’re going to craft the goblets in sets of seven. When you’re trying to make a truly magical weapon or piece of armor, a common strategy is to attack the issue from all sides, to use as many ways to infuse the metal as you can. You know that scythe Aurogos used in the Great Hall? He crafted it with ice elemental cores, frost oil, adorned it with the bones of a predator that thrives in ice, and where it touched water in the forging process, it touched water that had been frozen at one of the most magical places in our old world for millennia.

  
  


“Today’s goal is just goblets for the ritual that binds us to Harry, but it remains good practice. Practice the basics enough and they become instinct, and then you can start to get fancy. It’s hard to be a true master of the forge, and if a blacksmith ever tells you they know everything there is to know, then they’re full of shit.

  
  


“Okay, you see how the items are just off the bottom? That’s because we need the point at which the metal flows into the molds to be easily broken. Now, we’re going to start with melting down the items. They don’t seem to be magical in any way, just little bits of lost treasure that pile over time in a place like this. Ron, I’m going to walk you through the process of melting it down and pouring into the mold. Ted, you’re here because stuff like this causes bad burns if it splashes. Talion, I heard you haven’t used your breath attack much, so this is a great way to work on it. If you start to melt the forge we’ve thrown together you’re using too much heat. Start with as small a flame as you can and work your way up.”

  
  


_***_

  
  


While Ron began learning the art of the forge, Harry was standing in front of Hermione’s ice block (They were guessing it was the front, in the heat of battle and having moved it several times no one was quite sure which direction the girl was facing.) behind a shield charm that also protected Alira. Aurogos was tapping his talon to the ice. When he was ready, he forced a good deal of his magic into the ice and dropped into his mortal form quickly to raise his own shield.

  
  


He _could_ have taken cover behind his Lord as well, but the azure drake had seen how Alira looked at him. Aurogos chose to say nothing about it, his Lord deserved a good female, or several females more than he did. A great crack echoed through the room followed quickly by a spray of ice and snow. Hermione dropped to the ground, gasping for air.

  
  


Harry dropped his shield the instant the sharp slivers of ice settled; he and Alira both ran to her, and Harry held her closely as Alira checked her over. There wasn’t anything wrong with her, save a soreness to her throat and lungs; a benefit to the complete stasis effect with this variation was the lack of disruption to the target’s insides. As Alira pronounced Hermione to be in good health, just needing a few more moments of shallow breaths while her lungs warmed (Her lungs hadn’t been frozen, but the air inside had.) Aurogos excused himself, he had a meeting to attend.

Unseen by the others, the Blue drake slipped Hermione’s wand into a pocket for the time being. He would return it in a few hours unless Alira suggested otherwise.

  
  


Still sitting on the ground as the chills ran their course, Alira proved herself rather limber when she wrapped herself around both teens sitting on the floor, eventually dropping her head in Hermione’s lap, which was sitting in Harry’s lap now. Comfortable, the drake let her mind drift while Harry filled Hermione in on the events she missed.

  
  


The three teens relaxed for a time, Hermione began idly rubbing the base of the spine behind Alira’s head as Harry held her close to him. It was a comfortable experience for the three of them. Alira found herself enjoying the closeness she experienced with both humans. If she ever came across a shrine to Elune again she would have to leave something as thanks to the goddess for sending herself and the others here. It might be premature, but after spending the time she did with Harry, she realized she felt safer under his command than that of Ysera, or Alexstrasza, or even the Titan Eonar. And in the last few months (Both in the physical world and the Dream.) she had become very fond of Harry Potter.

  
  


While Alira might be happy if Harry took her to his bed and never looked at another, she had become fond of the witch in whose lap her head rested as well. In her culture it wasn’t uncommon to see a male mated to two or three females, carefully chosen over their long years of life. These groups, after they overcame the common initial problems functioned extremely well, with one individual’s strengths covering for where their other mates were weak. The relationships often proved the tests of thousands of years. _That_ was what she found herself desiring with her Lord.

  
  


Alira knew her strengths, and most of her weaknesses as well. She didn’t think herself stupid, but was well aware that others were smarter. Alira knew her strengths were those that made her ideal for taking care of children and family, and giving support to others. However, she disliked conflict. She could possibly force herself to stand by Harry’s side through war and political intrigue, but it would be difficult. More importantly, Alira couldn’t see herself ever being _good_ at it.

  
  


Harry and Hermione had strengths and weaknesses as well. Harry was doing well, but ten years without familial love or even companionship had stunted him emotionally. It was hard to really understand a concept that you’ve never experienced for yourself. Despite that, he hadn’t lashed out at others in anger, though it would have been truly understandable if he had. Albus Dumbledore’s plans for him had included conditioning him not to think for himself, to rely on others to do his thinking for him. Harry was overcoming his failings with the same effort and grit he put forth to protect others; though she could see it was hard for him.

  
  


Hermione, on the other hand, was brilliant. But her worst flaw was tied up in her intelligence as well. She gathered knowledge quickly but often failed to _think_. Hermione could desperately use help thinking both ‘outside the box’ and in learning logical reasoning. She also _seemed_ to be oddly naive about human nature. (Though, the Green drake smiled to herself inside of her own thoughts, that was a euphemism from Earth. Good and evil existed in the heart of every creature that was truly alive, regardless of species. Orc or Elf, Dragon or Draenei, they all had good and evil outliers.) _Though, I should reserve judgment on that until I uncover what exactly her forgotten memories hold._

In a way, it could almost be argued that laziness was a part of Hermione’s problems. It was _easier_ to write off her fellow students and focus on securing a teacher’s praise. It was _easier_ to believe what was written in books than question the author, his intentions and presented information. It was _easier_ to accept what she was taught without questioning it. _Then again, it is the job of those who care for the young to help them learn how to question the world. Hogwarts certainly didn’t help her there, apparently neither did her mundane educators._

  
  


Though they all had flaws, Alira had come to believe that together the three of them could cover each other’s flaws and could truly come to love each other. Unless she was very wrong, Harry and Hermione already had deep feelings of trust, friendship and perhaps love for each other. Various effects had muddled their feelings, but once their hearts and minds were their own Alira could begin work on her goal.

  
  


While she waited for Harry’s command, Alira’s mind drifted to the more physical aspects of such a relationship. Draconic culture really had no taboos about relationships with other sentient creatures and relationships like this were common, sometimes short flings, but often lifetime commitments. (To lifelong embarrassment, more than one dragon had found their species’s innate magic allowed them to procreate with non-sentient creatures as well. They had also learned that sentience required both parents having a mind; the extinct Cloud Serpents and the Dragonhawks native to Quel’Thalas being prime examples.)

Though, sometimes an individual would be required to help maintain the Dragonflights numbers. Life expectancy was sometimes a problem, but there were ways to extend a short-lived race like humans much longer. Though never, never, was immortality given to a loved one.

  
  


(The crushing, comforting, inescapable truth of Life was that death was not an enemy. Life was not meant to last forever. There were those on Azeroth that lived forever. Alira had met one of the Bronze Dragonflight’s ‘Watchers’ and her heart had broken for the man. He had lived ten-thousand years past every friend, foe, and kin and now there was nothing left in him but a hollowness, as if his soul had been cut out and duty poured in its place. He had walked, talked, and breathed, but the fire, the joy, even the hope of life had all snuffed out. He was dead, his spirit worn down by endless ages and seasons, yet his body still completed its tasks. It was truly disturbing that the Red Dragonflight supposedly had the seldom-to-never used power to animate the dead, yet it was Nozdormu the Bronze Aspect that was served by walking corpses.)

  
  


Alira found herself enjoying the ongoing treatments to remove the foreign substances. A gentle touch in an intimate moment, the comfort of _belonging_ to someone worthy of both her service and _trust_ had her wanting to throw herself at him immediately. His personal power was appealing as well. While most certainly not yet a match for the likes of a Dragon Aspect or Lady Proudmoore, Harry was growing stronger quickly. Whether it was due to the substances being removed, the healing of his body, food and water from Azeroth, the bond with the drakes, or all of the above, Harry was growing in power daily.

  
  


Fantasies of what could be, or at least the physical aspects of it flew into her head and were quickly dismissed. It was a generally known fact back home that both male and female dragons were physically compatible with mortals; in fact Harry was large enough to require careful lubrication. What wasn’t well known, however, was that the sexual drive of her kind was tied into their emotions. They couldn’t consciously choose to raise or lower their drive, but feelings were the trigger to start the various hormones that encouraged procreation. Alira’s feelings about and for Harry had already changed her hormones.

Again trying to clear her mind, Alira recalled that Sirius’s friend was out in the world right this very moment searching for a way for Harry to take a dragon’s form as she would an elf’s. The very vivid images that followed were much harder to banish as she saw Harry in each Flight’s form taking her aside and ‘establishing dominance.’

  
  


Alira’s fantasy of a Netherdrake-Harry twice her size licking her neck were interrupted when her real lord tapped her neck twice. _I’ll just put those thoughts aside for later…_

  
  


***

As Alira enjoyed a decidedly X-rated daydream, Harry finished getting Hermione caught up.

  
  


“As you can probably guess we’re down in the Chamber again right now, I brought all the Weasley siblings and Andromeda Tonks down. She’s a skilled healer and mind-healer who was part of the Black family until they kicked her out for marrying a muggleborn. Sirius just brought her back in, and her daughter too. A good portion of the Order was at Headquarters, and now they’re in a safe place as they get these foul potions to purge magical effects. I’m sorry, but I thought your parents might be in danger so I had Dobby bring them to where everyone is hiding. I’m sure they’d like to hear from you, but when they got angry Sirius panicked and cast a sleeping spell on them. He still isn’t doing well with people.

  
  


“Are you feeling alright? Do you need anything urgently?” When Hermione shook her head ‘no,’ Harry tapped Alira twice on her neck and breathed in deeply. “You’re expected to feel rather sleepy apparently, don’t worry about it if you start to nod off. I swear you’re safe here with me.”

  
  


Harry disliked what was about to happen as his eyelids grew heavy and his head began to droop along with his best friend’s. The Wizengamot had passed a binding law to the effect of if a magical over sixteen years old refused to accept treatment a mind-healer was unable to force it upon them, no matter if they were obviously under compulsions and their parents approved. That law was passed while Dumbledore was High Warlock, and had apparently originally been fourteen, but was negotiated to sixteen. It left Andromeda, thanks to the oaths she’d taken to achieve Ministry certification, completely unable to help Hermione unless the compulsion to avoid mind-healers could be removed.

  
  


Harry was aware that the foreign bit of his mind that caused him to do the same was still strong, still stood unbroken. He also trusted the Green drake lulling them to sleep with a special variation of her breath attack right now. As Harry drifted off to sleep he decided that he liked having his friend and dragon pressed against him as he slept.

  
  


***

  
  


Ten minutes later Andromeda opened the door and checked the three sleepers. All their vitals were normal, and at a request from Alira she performed the bladder-emptying charm on all three before walking out, deciding to check on them in three hours. Alira had said this would take as long as it would take, and while she was competent, she lacked the power a full-grown dragon would have. Also as requested, she sealed the door behind her.

  
  


Walking to another door, she knocked briefly and entered despite the wave of heat assaulting her. To her shock, Andromeda saw a pile of silver sickles dissolve into a puddle after a direct breath of fire from the Black and orange dragon to cheers from all within. Apparently the ritual required a silver goblet for each individual bound under the loyal lord oath, so they were crafting a number of them.

  
  


She remembered an off-hand comment from Ted once, about the real value of gold or silver opposed to what a galleon or sickle was worth. Apparently a number of his muggle-born friends had tried to break the enchantments on the coins and failed. _Well, those teens didn’t have friends that could breathe magical fire it seems. With this, a lot of wealth could be made and the economy could be ruined. I’ll bring it up soon, something to sit on I suppose. Should the Dark Lord gain control of England, this could cripple the economy._

  
  


***

  
  


Aurogon strode through the castle towards the Entrance Hall. There were still Aurors everywhere, standing around in ones and twos, as if any of them would be a match for the deposed Headmaster if he returned. He didn’t think any of them had even attempted to secure the wards from control by Albus.

  
  


Aurogos had found himself corresponding by elf with Rita Skeeter, though he loathed her and those like her that could only build themselves up by tearing good people down. Oh well, he’d given her enough to ensure her agreeing to an oath and she was useful as a name that many trusted even if they shouldn’t. He’d sent out a few hints, something to set her upon Dumbledore’s past and continue to pile his sins high in the daylight.

  
  


He’d even promised Rita an interview that would shake the Magical world, asking her to learn enough about magical oaths so she could honestly report on the information she’d be given. Rita was sure this was a chance to speak with Harry, but in reality if she and the Prophet agreed to a contract to publish the interview on the front page, word for word as it was spoken, she and a cameraman would be visiting Sirius Black and his pensieve at the ruins of Potter Manor. It would be everything he promised of course, and would whet the people’s appetites for an interview with Harry Potter.

  
  


Perhaps Rita would even get an interview with Harry if she was properly contrite going forward. He wouldn’t let his name be attached to anything of course. It wouldn’t be proper for a Headmaster. Of course, whether he would be a widely accepted leader of a school or a crazy person defending a castle against all comers would depend greatly on how this next meeting went. Just in case, he had a firm grip on the wards and the charms that controlled the remaining suits of armor.

  
  


Aurogos made a mental note to find out who had chosen the Hogwarts motto. He swore that the personality fragments of the Founders left inside the wardstones were distinctly amused at appointing an actual dragon Headmaster. _Oh well, eventually my Lord’s enemies will discover consequences for disturbing a dragon. I just hope they don’t actually try to tickle me, I’m not_ that _kind of dragon._

  
  


***

  
  


Though tense at first, Aurogos reflected later that Lucius had clearly been intrigued by the magics and weapon seen during the battle yesterday. The last words they had shared had summed up the exchange.

  
  


“Mr. Salonar, while it is highly irregular for a man your age to assume the Headship, I believe I will throw my support behind you for the time being. That you are assuming a mostly managerial role and leaning on those with greater knowledge speaks well of you. Of course, my support will remain dependent on the results you achieve, and not simply the dissemination of the interesting pieces of magic you have mastered.”

  
  


“Of course, Mr. Malfoy. Assuming I can get some Professors back, I’m hoping to resume classes on Monday. In the meantime I intend to have the next few days filled with learning a few practical spells from the visiting Aurors and Healers. I look forward to discovering what the future holds, and my own place therein. While I enjoy pleasantries, I’m afraid I still have much to do, so if you will excuse me.”

  
  


With that task taken care of, Aurogon stalked his way to the Headmaster’s office. _Business first, a quick look around for active magic and hidden caches, then teleport to the chamber and check on things there, a first look at the magic limiting the main wards, and then I can get my Dragonsworn working on what needs to be done. I need to get all three something to study as well, but none of the texts from Azeroth are in English. I’ll have to rely on the Room to provide study material until they can learn Common. At least it’s an easy tongue to pick up._

  
  


***

  
  


A/N: What will Severus Snape find when he returns to his house? Will he get anything back? Find out in a chapter I haven’t written yet! Maybe!

  
  
  


Here’s a list of the dragons currently on Earth:

  
  


Alira: Green Drake. Before she was drafted, she was training to be a professional mother. Alira already feels safer on Earth than she did on her home world ever since the latest war began. Sometimes she cosplays as a Night Elf. She is a proud shipper of Harry/Hermione/OC.

  
  


Aurogos: Blue Drake. Now Headmaster Aurogon Salonar of Hogwarts almost by accident and proud patron of three new Dragonsworn, Aurogos is a busy drake. His mortal form is a human with striking blue eyes and hair of different shades.

  
  


Caliona: Twilight Drake. She’s really looking forward to learning proper magic, not just what her friends can figure out on their own. Her mortal form is a human with sharp, aristocratic features, black pigmented eyes, and streaks of blue in her hair.

  
  


Dalistraza: Red Drake. Currently attending Hogwarts as Dali Lothar. Every adventuring group needs a healer, and she’s happy to fill the role. While generally a kind person, her healing training didn’t include ‘bedside manner.’ If she tells you to rest, you _will_ rest. After time spent with Andromeda Tonks, she longer requires your cooperation in your own recovery. If she wants you to have bed rest, you’re not escaping unless you’re a professional curse-breaker.

  
  


Ralion: Twilight Drake. At Hogwarts, his alias is Ral Elsington. He would normally be a great leader, but he’s been off his game recently, adapting to getting the evil gods out of his mind. He’s glad they’re gone, but it still takes some getting used to. His human form has black hair, a short beard, and purple eyes. His most recent thoughts could be summed up as “Ouch,” just with a lot more cursing.

  
  


Senastrasz: Red Drake. Goes by Senas Lothar sometimes. Come Monday, you can call him Professor Senastrasz, master of the Hogwarts forge. He’s fairly skilled around a forge, learning what he could ever since he saw his flight’s Dragonspawn breathing flame onto weapons before continuing to beat the steel into the proper shape. His second form is a High Elf with red eyes.

  
  


Stine: Bronze Drake. When he joined Harry Potter, he officially retired from life as a Time Cop on Azeroth, but it was a mostly thankless job anyway. (Long hours and job hazards aplenty.) Many Bronze Dragons know their fates ahead of time, Stine saw his and didn’t like it at all. When given the chance, he chose a different path whose end he couldn’t see. His alternate form is a feline centaur called a Tol’vir. Orange with black stripes, ears that suggest an elf in his ancestry and no shortage of muscles identify his second form. His Leatherworking hobby has kept him busy recently, there’s a lot of magical snake to process.

  
  


Talion: Black Drake. Most certainly a follower, he was thankful for Tendrion bringing him into the group. He was actually the oldest of his group before coming to Earth, but had an especially crappy childhood. Right now he’s trying to figure out the theory for raising an island with his volcano powers. “It’s just sinking an island in reverse, right?” has not instilled confidence that he has any idea what he’s doing. His human form bears a heavily muscled warrior’s build, with black hair and burnt orange eyes.

  
  


Vespiona: Twilight Drake. Sister to Ralion, she was very close to Tendrion before they parted ways. She’s in mourning for a loved one she will never see again. Her mortal form is a Draenei with blue skin and purple eyes.

  
  



	14. Chapter 14: Hermione Discovers Internal Dialouge

I own neither franchise. You know those fics where the ‘scarcrux’ is removed by the goblins in thirty minutes or less? This isn’t one of those. If the only way to remove it in cannon is either destroying the vessel or tanking a killing curse with the whole Elder Wand ownership oddness going on, a simple removal doesn’t make sense.

  
  


Pebble’s Harry Potter has had it a bit worse than his cannon counterpart, and his sacrificial blood protection is weaker as a result.

  
  


Chapter 14: Hermione Discovers Internal Dialogue

  
  


As she began her work to heal the teen’s minds, Alira discovered a small problem. _Well, it would have been much easier to sift through their minds for the various foreign effects if we had done this_ before _they learned mental defenses. Hermione certainly has something wrong with her, and it isn’t a simple fix at all. But her mind is so well defended I can’t get in to see what was done to her…_

  
  


_Harry has that parasite on him, but the compulsions are weakening. Removing the various substances in his system is helping him fight them off, and his increasing power will help break them and hold back the parasite as well. Well if I can’t get in directly, I’ll have to employ a bit of trickery, not what I’d like to do, but she should thank me if we ever completely free her mind._ With a decision reached, Alira slipped her mind into the Dream and gave Hermione a tug to bring her in as well.

  
  


As Hermione found herself in the not-reality of the Dream once more, the teen soon found herself with a very friendly Night Elf wrapping her in a gentle hug. With a smile on her face, she greeted the drake. “Hello to you Alira. I’m not entirely sure why we’re here again, was there something you wanted?”

  
  


Pulling back and returning to her true form, she reclined against a suddenly solid green haze. _How odd it is to be in a Dream untouched by the Titans. Perhaps it could use some work, but I want to be sure nothing I do is harmful first. Then again, for good or ill, it isn’t like I have the power to make huge changes here anyway._

  
  


“Hello Hermione. I’m afraid this isn’t strictly a social call. Could you sit with me? There are a few things we need to discuss that aren’t safe to say in the waking world.” When the teen had sat down against a folded wing, nearly as uncomfortable as Harry with physical contact that wasn’t familial, the drake continued.

  
  


“These questions will be personal, and I apologize for making you uncomfortable but there is a reason.” She saw the human understood, so she continued.

“How do you feel about Harry?” With the controls on this girl, she really didn’t expect a truthful answer, and was focusing her attention on what she could feel from the physical contact with Hermione’s mind. The Dream stripped many of the barriers sentient creatures placed around their minds and hearts, so she expected to be able to get a sense of what the girl really felt.

  
  


“He’s my best friend, his friendship means the world to me.” Ah, that was certainly true, but when she focused, there was more than a hint of something else beneath the surface as well.

  
  


“Is that all he is? He’s certainly not an ugly male, even with all of those scars on him. He’s a powerful mage and wealthy as well. Not to mention he’s a kind man, gentle when he needs to be, you don’t know how comforting his touch has been. Harry Potter is also one of the few that can be trusted with authority and power, he could have ordered us drakes to destroy his enemies, to fight and kill for him as soon as the oaths settled. He hasn’t.

  
  


“If he wanted to, he could even order us females to service him sexually. He hasn’t done that even if the only one who would actually object would be Vespiona; she’s grieving for a mate she’ll likely never see again.” It was interesting to follow her deeper emotions as she spoke. Using the Dream, the realm all living creatures touched in small ways as they slept in this way was a new technique. It proved not to be very difficult, if an odd experience, and the Green drake was quickly becoming used to processing the emotional undertones. Hermione’s emotions betrayed hints of a romantic love buried deeply, perhaps some desire, and jealousy when she spoke about Harry sleeping with the drakes. _Interesting…_

  
  


“No! Harry is my friend and I see him as a brother only.”

  
  


_That wasn’t really a lie from her conscious mind, but deeper down it was. Okay, so something is really warping her mind, I can’t get it out without tearing my way in and I’m not even sure I could succeed with that._ “Okay, last question: If you knew that there was a foreign presence in your best friend’s head, and it was working to consume him from the inside out, what would you be willing to do to help him?”

  
  


“What do you mean? Harry has some kind of protection from his mother...”

  
  


“Yes, and that is the only reason his body isn’t walking around with someone else controlling it already. (There really was some ward around Harry, in the Dream it tasted like a mother’s desperation to protect her child. A mother’s love lived on, far past Lily Potter’s end.) There’s a parasite deeply rooted into him both physically and metaphysically, and we can’t remove it physically without taking most of his brain with it.

  
  


“It’s been inside him for years, Hermione, it could have been removed with a bit of skin and bone when he first got that scar on his face, (That was her best guess at this point, but the one that made the most sense.) but now it’s burrowed deep. It was allowed to grow _roots_ and _fester!_ I found out about it when all of us were leaving the Dream, the fact that it was there at all when I only called Harry to join us is worrying.”

  
  


Alira let the girl digest that for a moment. All parts of Hermione’s mind were horrified now. _I really don’t like doing this, but I can feel from how her mind is working that she really is very intelligent and would likely help Harry greatly. That she would probably be interested in a romantic relationship with him if free doesn’t hurt either. She would be good for him and he for her._

  
  


“If Harry really is in danger like you say, I would do anything I could to help him. You have a plan, right?” And there was steel in that response. Alira could work with that, and do it without truly betraying the girl as well.

  
  


“Right now, we’re attacking the problem from all sides. Harry’s magical strength is increasing quickly thanks to a variety of factors. When we started healing his body we found that the parasite doesn’t like life-fire, which is good and bad. It’s good we can hurt it with the flames, but bad that it reacts to the fire like that. We’re trying to build Harry up mentally and emotionally, and I’ve been pulling the sludge out of him that’s been altering his mind and keeping him weak.

  
  


“All the things are helping, but it isn’t yet enough. We dare not even tell him he has the parasite, because we’re afraid of it harming him if it knows we’re working to remove it. We haven’t exhausted all the possibilities yet, but removing it remains difficult. Aurogos gave me a spell we can use, the two of us. It isn’t a full solution, but together we can aid him even more.”

  
  


“What kind of spell is it? I’m still learning about the mind arts, there was nothing in the library at all on them.” Alira was glad to see the eagerness of the bushy-haired teen, feeling her desire to both help her friend and learn something new.

  
  


“It’s a spell that will allow us to merge our power and our will so we can pick at and remove the compulsion keeping Harry from consenting to treatment from a mind-healer before moving on to the true threat of the parasite. Once we no longer need to do this behind his back things will become easier. You see, he refuses direct treatment but he _did_ give us an order to help him as we saw fit. I’m following that now. You are very important to him, so I want to work with you to help him.” _Ah, if that warm feeling deep in her doesn’t indicate romantic feelings forcibly repressed I’m a fool._

  
  


“Together we can loosen the parasite’s hold while he dreams, we won’t remove it that way, but we will make another method of removal possible. The spell isn’t without cost. You and I will be stuck together for between ten and fifteen years, and it won’t always be easy. Our true cores, the parts of our minds, our souls that make us who we are will remain separate. Everything else, every memory, every stray thought, every desire will be felt by both of us. I admit, I am a little apprehensive about this because of how fast your mind seems to work.” (That was not a lie. Hermione’s mind seemed to be both fast and more than a little twitchy, at times like a squirrel given an entire pot of espresso.)

  
  


“But in the few days I’ve known him, Harry Potter has grown on me. I think he represents the best chance my kind have, and maybe not just the ones of us here, on this world. I think we can both agree that Harry Potter is a good man. Sometimes, good men become truly great ones if they have people standing behind them. Hermione, will you help me?”

  
  


_No shortage of apprehension now, but I know she’ll be helping me. I wish I could tell her the whole truth beforehand, but I can’t account for how the previous Headmaster has tied her into knots._

  
  


Though it took some thought, Hermione soon reached a decision. “From what I understand about the bond you have with Harry, you’re incapable of betraying him, right?”

  
  


Alira smiled and drew Hermione closer, placing a wing around her in a hug. Still looking the teen in the eye, she answered. “That’s correct. And because he cares so much about and relies on you like he does, it would require foul, _willing_ treachery on your part for me to justify harming you. As a positive, we’ll be closer than sisters, and I wouldn’t mind a sister. I was part of a small clutch and my three brothers both went into combat training as soon as they could. They’re still alive as far as I know, but we were never close.”

  
  


“Are there side effects you haven’t told me about?” It was nice to see a little caution in the teen, but there wasn’t a ton of it; befitting of one sorted into the house of Lions.

  
  


“Yes. You won’t be able to betray Harry any more than I can; I don’t think it will be possible for us to betray each other, which seems like a plus right now anyway. We’ll be exposed to each other’s taste in virtually everything. Some of Harry’s commands to me may bleed over; so far you could be compelled to ignore the whispers of the Old Gods, live a life you can be proud of, and help Harry as you see fit. There’s more, but I need to withhold the information until we’re stuck together. Do you have any more questions?” Alira felt the young woman gather her determination for a moment before she gave her answer.

  
  


“No. If you think this could help save Harry, I’ll do it. What must we do?”

  
  


“First we wake up, Harry can sleep through this, he could use a little more rest anyway. You’ll need to paint the runes on yourself and me, and we’ll both need to strip completely. I have some green enchanted bags on my sides, right behind my forelimbs, could you help me with the straps? Don’t worry about Harry, he’ll be asleep for at least an hour yet.”

  
  


After returning to the waking world, Hermione found the Green drake was rather ticklish on her sides, and her smirk promised that she wouldn’t forget that discovery anytime soon. Soon, all the markings were in place, and Hermione was as ready as she could be.

  
  


“Are you ready? Once we start, you’re going to be stuck with me for over a decade, so this is the last chance to back out.”

  
  


With determination burning in her eyes, the girl simply said: “I’m ready.” And knelt, naked as Alira on the cold stone. The drake raised a talon and very carefully grasped the teen’s neck. Later, she’d tell the girl that this origin had been created by a Blue dragon as a way to bind prisoners that couldn’t be trusted at the time but were believed capable of reforming their ways. For now, she began channeling her magic into the young woman, ignoring her gasps as the witch got a taste of just how strong the magic of even a drake was.

  
  


It swept through Hermione, pooling in the runes, overwhelming the teen. Aurogos had explained the most essential part of the ritual was the caster’s intentions, so she tried to forge the bond that would be as an older female taking a dear friend under her wing. Hermione’s piece was less important, she simply needed to accept the drake like one would a guiding older sibling.

  
  


While a bit of a difficult piece of magic, it was proving to be within Alira’s capabilities as she worked. When she was ready, the drake started to pull Hermione’s magic into her own flesh, essentially taking all of Hermione’s magic and replacing it with hers. The magic taken from the teen would then mix with her own under her scales and be overwhelmed as it blended. This would leave Hermione at her mercy, a very real part of her kept within the dragon for at least a decade as it very slowly drained, drop by tiny drop, back to the witch. When Hermione’s magic was back where it was meant to be, and all of the Draconic magic returned as well, the effect would end. Until then, their minds would flow together, the witch obeying the dragon.

  
  


(Sadly, blending two minds together like this without designating a leader and a follower was a recipe for chaos, division and eventual madness as they would fight, tearing at each other even without wanting to, until both sides lost.)

  
  


As she felt the magic finish its movements, Alira began the final part of the magic, sealing them together as one. Without this part, without forcing their minds and magic to work together, the foreign magic would probably kill them both.

  
  


The final surge of magic left them both panting and sweaty on the floor. Laying on her side, Alira pulled Hermione close against the soft scales on underside and draped a wing over the witch both to keep her warm and to protect her dignity in case Harry woke early. Though human dignity still made no sense to her, there was nothing wrong with showing others that one was healthy and beautiful. And Hermione was certainly healthy, easily capable of giving Harry many intelligent and powerful children when they felt the time was right. _Hey! I have more purpose than just giving birth!_

  
  


Letting out an audible snort, Alira responded. _Yes you have more purpose in life than ensuring the next generation, yet choosing a mate and continuing the cycle of life is both a drive and responsibility that exists in all of us. How do you feel, sister?_

  
  


It was interesting to watch Hermione’s eyes dance around as she started to feel out the mental changes. _I feel okay, I can feel my magic inside you, and yours in mine. Wait! You tricked me! Why?!_

  
  


Wanting to alleviate her concerns quickly, Alira got ready for a deep dive into the witch’s mind. _Do you remember back in the common room, when the spell for detecting mental effects returned ‘black’ on you? Something has been done to you, the memory taken away and your mind was warped to not allow anyone to even try to help you. Harry wanted me to do everything I could, so here we are. I want you to lower your mental defenses. Yes, I can order you around, but try to imagine existing in this state without one of us leading._

  
  


_Really Hermione? Do you think two minds would do anything but tear each other apart like this? Okay. Now, one thing this bond allows is for your consciousness to exist within my brain. Sister-witch, my brain will serve me for at least ten thousand years, there’s plenty of room for us both._

  
  


_Why? I’m hoping the magic binding you exists within your flesh, you should expect to feel different once you cross over. No, the parts that keep you breathing are autonomic, your body won’t die if your mind hangs out in my brain for a bit. You feel that connection? I’ll help you come over the first few times, until we both get the hang of it._

  
  


It was certainly an odd sensation this bond, thankfully Alira was able to cut off a lot of questions before they were spoken by nudging Hermione towards pertinent memories, otherwise the clutter in their shared internal dialogue would quickly become grating. _Once you’re here, don’t try to control my body please. I’m going to teach you how to use it in time, but you’re not used to this many limbs and I don’t want the bruises right now._

  
  


After a few moments, Hermione entered Alira’s head, essentially using the unused portions of the dragon’s physical brain to run her own thought processes. _This is different… Do you have perfect recall?! Hey, nearly perfect is still better than mine. I can see your memories even clearer now… Why do you want me to stay away from certain ones, you can see all of mine right now!_

  
  


_I’m sure you’ll see them eventually Hermione, but I just don’t want to relive them again any time soon. Just stay away from the time between my being drafted and reaching the Eastern Kingdoms, please. There’s a lot of ugliness in war, and that war especially. I’m glad you understand._

  
  


_Your memories of flying are incredible! The wind, the scents, the sun on your scales! Oh, all those cute little whelps! Those elves wearing leather gloves in your nursery make sense after the memory of the lecture about the newborns not having control over their instincts yet. Oh my god! In the halls?_

  
  


_Yes, sister. The only real rules we have about copulation is no reproducing with another Dragonflight, don’t do it when you’re on duty, and if the whelps see it you have to give explanations to them until they run out of questions._

  
  


With that, Alira used her tail to begin poking Harry, a touch of magic in her extremity proving enough to overcome the chemical keeping him asleep. “Hello my Lord. Hermione is all right though I need a little more time with her right now. I wanted you to wake up and give us some privacy. Just be careful, you’re going to be drowsy for a while I’m afraid. We’ll be done in an hour or two, in time for dinner.”

With a nod, Harry left them be. Hermione began the mental discussion again as soon as he left. _You have feelings for him. Strong ones… I._ That was as far as the witch got before the drake interrupted her.

  
  


_Before you say that you won’t pursue Harry for my happiness, let’s look at my recent fantasies please. See? I can see in your head that your culture doesn’t like two females with one male, Titans know why. No, I’m serious. If people can get over their own desires and put their loved ones first, put their_ family _first, relationships like this can work just fine. Look at how of my people do this. Stop. Relax. Focus on my breathing. It’s kind of disturbing how poorly your culture prepares its young for romance and reproduction._

  
  


_Easy Hermione. I’d tell you to breathe, but you’re not taking my body for a spin until we put you through some training to protect my wings and tail. Yes, I do think they’re the best physical parts of me, unless I get really lucky and end up with_ _impressive_ _horns in eighty years or so. Attractiveness among dragons has a lot more to do with looking_ healthy _, though things like unusual colors or the slight variations we have can help._

  
  


Hermione took control of their shared monologue for a moment then. _That is rather interesting. And likely healthier than the various trends we humans have, trying to stay thin or alter our bodies to attract a man. I wonder why there’s such a difference?_

  
  


_That’s easy sister. We don’t wear clothing. Everything we are is on display, well mostly anyway._

  
  


_Now, I want to examine your mind in depth. Relax, let me in and remember that I’m not trying to hurt you. Yes, it will be unpleasant when I push deep enough, I’m trying to find out what’s been done to you. I’ve been discussing the memory charm ‘Obliviate’ with Healer Tonks and I think it’s possible to view a memory with some creative application of my magic._

  
  


_What I won’t do is risk your mind digging out this mystery, you’re too important to my Lord. Also, I consider you a friend and the others respect you as well. Talion would take an arrow for you, you really made an impact on him that first night. Good, I’m going to begin looking at the structure of your mind, it’s much easier when you’re also in my head._

  
  


Neither mind ‘said’ anything for a time, as Alira began a metaphysical inspection of her friend. For Hermione, the closest comparison she could make was a mental equivalent of getting a physical exam from her mundane doctor. Alira watched and listened, poked and prodded. Fairly quickly she had found the various places her memories had been suppressed. Thankfully, none of the missing memories seemed to be the work of that fool Lockheart.

  
  


_Hermione, I found some memories your mind was repressing, good thing too. That time you spent petrified, at least part of your mind kept going, recording what you could hear but not process at the time. You want to go through it? I will do you a favor and limit the memories to speech, or you’d have to go through every noise your ears heard. It will distract you from what I’m doing, and it will be helpful for me to see your mind process information._

  
  


With Hermione distracted, listening to what she’d missed, the drake continued. For Hermione, she was surprised by how many of the memories were from Harry, just sitting with her and trying to keep her company. Hermione could tell that Alira thought it was an adorable memory of young love.

  
  


As she went deeper, Alira was thankful she had spent time studying the mind before she was sent to war. Early Broodmother training was mostly hands-on, lectures from an elder, and a lot of independent studying. And the mind had fascinated her. To be honest, she had been hoping it was possible to reclaim first the Black Flight, and later the Twilight with the right application of the mind arts, though she never shared her aspirations with another soul.

  
  


If she’d been older, more powerful, had enough respect she would have been ordering the Twilight Dragonflight taken alive wherever possible at Hyjal. If nothing else she would have found some way to spare the innocent, even if she failed to free their minds she could have shipped them off to Outland and burned into their minds that attacking the innocent and returning to Azeroth meant their own deaths.

  
  


In any case, her studies were proving handy now. Hermione’s first missing memory occurred shortly after her adventure involving the third floor, Quirrel, and the… _Did you three kids really risk your lives for a philosopher’s stone?_

  
  


This led to an internal discussion on the item in question, how it could differ from the much more common item from Azeroth. _Huh, I’d bet a few choice scales that the elixir of life is a hoax, and they just don’t want to share how they’ve extended their lives. I’d bet a few more that only their identities have died this time._

  
  


Leaving that train of thought alone for the moment, Alira got back to her task. Hermione’s memory gaps were careful and precise, taking no more than needed. And whatever control effect was at work seemed to begin after that first missing memory, but the commands she’d been given were missing as well.

  
  


_Hermione, I need to see the memory of when this effect began. Somehow, it has you obeying commands you can’t consciously remember. We’re returning to the Dream again_ _so I’ll be a bit stronger_ _, I want you to sleep while I do this. I have some fears, yes. Now, this is my first_ Order _to you: You will not view the memories I recover or make any attempt to learn them without my explicit permission. Because there’s a chance of a self-death woven into them if you were to learn of it, and you and I are both too important to die yet._

  
  


A few moments later, Hermione was settled into the Dream, having a pleasant dream. Alira decided that when it was possible, they’d have to try alternating their sleeping hours a bit to experiment with entering each other’s dreams. Gathering herself, the drake pushed as hard as she could, and then she was inside the memory, standing in the Hogwarts Headmaster’s office as a little girl.

  
  


Alira could tell her new friend was only twelve years old at this point, and the memory was taking place after the events on the third floor obstacle course. Alira, though only a scant few years older than Hermione, still had her beaten in maturity and life-experience. And as Albus Dumbledore praised the little girl, her intelligence, her bravery and her loyalty to her friends, Alira began to get a very bad feeling.

  
  


After again saying how impressed he was with her, the Headmaster offered to teach her, to take her as his apprentice, so that she could stand by Harry in the future. She was assured that Harry would be given the same offer when he woke up. Hermione’s acceptance was never in doubt, her trust for authority had yet to waver. _Of course, it really should have at this point. That adventure was obviously tailored for either first years in general or her group in particular._

  
  


Dumbledore firmly grasped her arm, telling her that there was a ceremony for apprentices they needed to travel for, but it would only take a few moments. _Wait, why isn’t the Phoenix here? I thought the old man was very proud of it?_

  
  


The memory twisted for a moment, and though she felt Hermione’s sickness at the apparition, Alira started taking in the details quickly. _The time of day isn’t the same as Scotland, we’re just after dawn wherever this is._ Dumbledore spoke a little more about how masters needed a firm hand to guide apprentices, but told the girl the magic he would work on her would only last until she learned all he had to teach.

  
  


Hermione was told that all she needed to do was say her Name when the Headmaster asked, and the drake heard the capitalization in that word. Alira cringed but kept watching when Albus cast complicated magic on the girl and asked if he had her trust. Hermione said he did. He asked if she would follow his commands, and she said she would. As the magic rushing around reached a crescendo, he asked the girl “Will you give _Me_ your _Name_?” She answered Hermione Jane Granger. And Alira saw the magic snap closed around the little girl, who honestly thought this was a gift, something special.

  
  


Alira continued to watch as they returned to the Hogwarts Castle, and the Headmaster gave her commands. He told her that she would keep an eye on Harry, and do everything she could to keep him away from ‘unsavory’ individuals. (In this case, unsavory to mean anyone that would disagree with the Headmaster.) She was commanded to trust ‘Me’ completely, never to doubt ‘Me’ for long no matter the situation. Hermione was commanded that while she would remain Harry’s closest friend, she would have no romantic interest in him, to better chip away at the boy’s self-worth. _Ah, there’s her fire. She knows that he tricked her, her anger is roaring. Sadly, there’s nothing she can do now._

  
  


In addition she would take no action to help Harry outside of school. Hermione was also commanded that if she ever learned of these commands and found a way to subvert them, she was to contact ‘Me’ immediately. If she ever broke herself free of any single command, she was to die at her earliest convenience. The final command from Dumbledore was to forget that he had bound her, forget that she had been given these commands but to follow them anyway, and to forget even being summoned to his office today.

  
  


_Poor girl. I’ll talk with Aurogos, Dumbledore put an odd emphasis on the word ‘Me’ in that memory. This will be a tricky effect to purge from her, lets see what the other memories are._

  
  


After examining the other memories, mostly of the girl reporting to the Headmaster everything Harry had done, Alira had some idea of the method by which the controlling influence was attached. _It’s literally bound to her ‘Name.’ I’d assume this was fiction if not for the fact that it_ works.

  
  


When she could, when she could make absolutely sure Hermione wasn’t aware of the conversation, Alira needed to discuss the most recent ‘debriefing’ early in the summer with the resident Blue dragon. Albus had allowed her to remember everything, and she had begged him to stop toying with Harry. Hermione had pleaded with the Headmaster, trying to convince him to make Harry his successor. She told him how strong he was, both in character, morals, and magic.

  
  


And the Headmaster had been enjoying the despair the girl felt as she went on and saw him unmoved. Dumbledore had just begun to taunt her when Fawkes screeched at him, quickly flying onto his desk and expressing his displeasure. The old man had started, and his expression changed from one of gloating to regret. He had told the girl that he deeply regretted the necessity of his actions. When Hermione saw the defeat in his Phoenix and understood in that moment at least that Fawkes was a fellow prisoner. At least until her memories were suppressed again.

  
  


Sure that meant something, but not completely sure what, Alira put it aside for the moment and slipped into Hermione’s current dream. After dredging through those memories, the vaguely pleasant and happy dream her new sister was experiencing seemed like just what she needed.

  
  


***

  
  


While Harry Potter gradually shrugged off a magically/chemically induced nap and Alira and Hermione shared a fluffy, happy dream, Aurogos was making preparations for tonight’s announcement. Events had seemingly escalated out of control, or at least expectation. _At least we’re secure in the school for the moment. We’_ _re ready to_ _‘decant’ Valistraza in a few hours_ _as well._ _It’s strange, before coming here I would have agreed that her clutch needed to die, but today the thought of her eggs smashed or whelps murdered sickens me._

  
  


_More, I would fight to protect them from that fate. There are so few Blue dragons left… Even the half-bloods are precious. How odd, I’m even looking forward to teaching them magic! Thank Elune none of them are in danger of ending up as apprentices of Saragosa._

  
  


Now he returned to the Room of Requirement again, very much wishing for more time to spend with the two teens inside. Sadly, there simply wasn’t time right now; the drake _was_ however, very much looking forward to the future when he had more free time. He did enjoy the Room’s bathing facilities with Sarah and Naomi, wishing he had the time and energy now for more than getting clean.

  
  


After they were dry, his third Dragonsworn arrived as requested, eager to learn. For now, he wanted the three to use the room to research this world’s familiar magic. He explained how it intrigued him, especially in light of the various species from Azeroth that could surely be made into life partners with the right spell. He also promised to arrange for appropriate familiars for all three of his Sworn as soon as possible. More than anything else, all three were eager to learn Common, and Aurogos promised to arrange tutoring for them and anyone else that wanted to learn soon.

  
  


***

  
  


Finally the dinner hour came, and the Great Hall was filled again. Messages had been sent to the Prefects of each house that an important announcement would be given before dinner that night. Aurors still remained inside the castle, monitoring the students in theory, but mostly being useless in practice. Delores Umbridge had attempted to sit in the Headmaster’s chair when she reached the Great Hall that evening, only for a painful shock to chase her out of it quickly.

  
  


Agreeing with his Lord and Hermione’s opinion on the general level of intelligence of the residents of the castle, (Though that was something he intended to improve, as large a task as it was.) Aurogos had decided to give the school a show. A simple series of charms had been applied to an area in front of the staff table, keeping students from standing in a specific space. Also, a charm to keep the toad-like woman off of what was, by rights, his chair.

  
  


At exactly the minute that dinner was to be served, a sound echoed through the hall. It took a moment to place, but it was the low howling of a blizzard. In that spot charms had kept clear, snow formed and began to swirl. More and more formed from the air, until a localized, tightly centered sphere of white swirled rapidly before a crack sounded through the hall. (Aurogos intended to learn the apparition of this world, but for now he substituted his own method of teleportation with an added sound effect.)

  
  


At the sound of the crack, the snow exploded outwards, racing towards the students but evaporating before reaching them. With the snow gone, the students got a good look at their new Headmaster. Aurogos was wearing a simple blue robe with the Hogwarts crest proudly displayed on his chest. With a bit of magic to enhance his voice, he greeted the hall.

  
  


“Hello Hogwarts. My name is Aurogon Salonar, and as of today, on the authority of the Echoes of the Founders, I am your new Headmaster!” Though there were some cheers from the Slytherin table that was less surprised, he continued on, tramping over increasingly loud objections from the witch in the pink cardigan. “I wasn’t a student here very long before circumstances caused me to take action I never expected to. Yesterday morning, as soon as WE, all of us here, chased Albus Dumbledore out of this castle, myself and three other students began a quest to KEEP him out!

  
  


“The Founders left Echoes of themselves in this school, more than portraits, less than ghosts. You see, a new Headmaster is meant to visit each Echo and be judged. Slytherin’s Echo has long been ignored, his portion of the castle’s wards without a master! But the Echo judged me worthy, and allowed me to control one forth of both the wards and the castle’s guardians yesterday! Through that approval, I gained another, then a third and early this morning, Gryffindor’s Echo gave its blessing! With that, I succeeded in locking Albus the Insane out of our school, and was the first Headmaster in centuries to feel the entirety of the ward scheme settle onto my shoulders!

  
  


“I have been given a privilege and a hefty responsibility to all of you. I will not shirk from it! There will be changes, changes for...” Sadly, Aurogos was cut off when the increasingly unhappy woman finally managed a cannon blast charm.

  
  


Before the uncouth woman could barge into his acceptance speech, Aurogon spoke again. “Perhaps we’ll add a class on manners and comportment as well? I’ve said this before recently, but good manners are imperative for users of magic. We who can touch the world around us and bend it to our will must always be careful to not provoke others. Otherwise,” Here, the new Headmaster turned around to face the irate woman. “you never know when you’ll provoke someone _far_ more powerful than yourself.”

  
  


The Great Hall, every student in the castle, every Auror and Healer present went silent at that. Harry Potter, (Hermione was still resting down in the Chamber, Alira’s dive into her memories had proven both necessary and exhausting.) couldn’t keep a small smirk off his own face, in between yawns anyway.

  
  


Deciding to use a proven strategy, Aurogon watched her out of the corner of his eye until she was about to speak and then spoke again. “What can I do for you Ms. Umbridge? If you want a seat in the class I just mentioned, that can be arranged.”

  
  


Though she obviously wanted to snarl at the young man, Dolores Umbridge maintained her composure, for the most part. “I think you’ll find, young man, that the Ministry will never permit someone so lacking in experience to lead a school! That should be left to your betters.” Though mostly polite, her face remained in a snarl and her complexion was becoming ugly.

  
  


Swallowing a smirk, Aurogon raised his hands in front of him, as though he were cradling a large ball. A flickering flame of fire, an insubstantial frozen mist the size of a cantaloupe, arcs of lightning that chased each other in circular patterns, and thin ropes of a purple energy coiling upon itself sprung into being and orbited above his hands, maintaining their distance from each other. “I suppose I lack experience in politics, I lack experience in managing a school, I even lack experience in transfiguration. What I _do not_ lack experience in, is magic. I know many of its secrets, its hidden dangers. I know the blunders of ages past and the triumphs of the greatest sorcerers. I have touched the magic that beats at the heart of the world!

  
  


“And I want to share what I know. The previous headmaster here allowed the teaching of _magic_ to become dry, repetitive, and _boring!_ The study of MAGIC! The art of touching the heartbeat of creation, of touching what both _is_ and _isn’t_ and commanding the universe to heed your call, to shape itself to your _whims_!

  
  


“Under me, Hogwarts students will learn both magic and power! Under me, this school will be a place of learning unequaled anyone on Earth! Tell me Dolores, what would a Hogwarts under you look like? What would you teach your students? What HAVE you taught them, other than to fear and hate authority? The very stones of this school saw what you’ve done to children for the sake of politics _Madam!”_ Aurogon spoke the last word with as much derision as he could, a sneer visible on his face.

  
  


“As long as I have a say, you will not gain power here or continue torture of students. For your actions the Echoes of Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw all demanded you made an example of and strung from the battlements. Hufflepuff suggested your head in a box sent to the Ministry as a warning to not interfere here.”

  
  


As Aurogon had been speaking, one by one each ball of energy floating above his hands was set upon by the purple strands of energy and compressed within them. As the last ball, fire, was consumed, the purple chains floated to hover over his right hand. Shifting the energy just a bit, the tiny construct took a reptilian form, and a creature he had only seen in ancient scrolls filtered into being.

  
  


Cloud Serpents had been flying serpentine draconic war-mounts of the Pandaren people before the Sundering. As a whole the race and their lands were thought lost in their entirety, until his old master had happened upon the Wandering Isle. Sadly, their history was… poorly archived, to use a phrase he’d heard from a fellow apprentice. It was unknown when the group on the Wandering Isle had left their homeland, and it was truly sad that the dragonkin war-mounts had been lost entirely. But now, a little bit of history was brought to life as the energy in his hand shook to life, or a semblance thereof.

  
  


Now fully formed the construct, appearing as a dark purple dragon of the typical oriental shape depicted in legends, about as long as a man’s arm, shook its head and began shifting it’s attention around the room, its eyes flitting here and there. Releasing his control on it slightly, knowing it was bound to not harm those in the hall, the little construct darted away, an inquisitive nature compelling it to dart here and there. Sneering at him, Umbridge spoke harshly. “A simple trick, lights and illusions! Nothing that makes you the right sort of person to run this school!”

  
  


Further words from Umbridge were cut off when she was proved wrong. The little construct proved to be much more mischievous than intended, and had picked up a large chalice of wine before pouring it over the furious woman.

  
  


Ignoring for now the sputtering woman, Aurogon turned to address the students again. “This is a lesson I hope you will take with you when you leave this school, all of you. Magic is capable of both wonders and horrors, and like any other source of power, is dangerous if one is careless. That little arcane construct of an extinct creature? Was meant to flit around the room, being curious. Even though it is more than I expected, it remains _safe_ because of a dozen spells woven beneath the surface. At worst, it will roam and play little pranks if it gets bored.”

  
  


The little purple creature returned to him, affectionately rubbing on his hands. For a moment, he just scratched the little thing, before an idea came to him. Looking into its eyes, a pulse of magic gave the new Headmaster its full attention. “Little one, I’ve decided to keep you around, and the wards will sustain you as long as you follow some rules. First, you will not harm anyone save in the defense of students or guests. Second, you may amuse yourself as you wish but do not hamper learning within the school. Learn and grow, and if you prove yourself I will make you the new Guardian of this school.”

  
  


Covered and stained, Delores was again building a head of steam, so Aurogon took her initiative again by negligently waving his right hand at the throne-chair that usually held Albus Dumbledore. A spear of ice flew from his hand, impaling the chair and carrying it back twenty feet. Looking as many students as possible in the eyes, he spoke again.

  
  


“I do not have any need to lord my authority over my fellow seekers of magical knowledge. I do not require you to be continually reminded of my supposed greatness. I reject the idea that being Headmaster of this school gives me any mandate beyond making this school the best it can possibly be!”

  
  


As he spoke, the hall changed. The platform from where the staff had presided over the students sunk, until it was just slightly elevated over the students. (A practical matter, giving those at the head table proper visibility over the students.)

  
  


Stepping up to the now much shorter platform, Aurogon twitched his wrist and the holster up his sleeve dropped his new wand into his hand. With a flourish, he gestured to the space where the toppled throne once stood, and ice began to condense out of the air. After but a moment, a high backed, comfortable chair took shape.

  
  


Snapping off a few additional spells, giving the chair comfort and permanence as well as keeping others out of it, Aurogon walked around the table and took his place. With a pre-planned pulse of his magic, the tables were laden with a feast. There were some new additions, the drake had lifted restrictions on the menu, telling the elves they could prepare whatever dishes the students seemed to enjoy as long as the proper nutrition was provided.

  
  


Nodding to a corner of the Hall where his invited reporters had been taking photos, Aurogon enjoyed his first meal as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An interview with Rita would be waiting after the meal, and he would have a lot of questions to answer soon. For now, the elves had outdone themselves for his welcoming feast.

  
  


***

  
  


Over the next week even more fruits bloomed from the deal that had been struck, and later bound by contract, with a well-known reporter. Rita had made a deal for positive press, or at least honest press for Harry Potter, those close to him and the new Headmaster in exchange for a polite interview with Harry Potter as soon as he was declared healthy by both of his healers. Harry wouldn’t be exactly pleased to sit down with Rita Skeeter, but since the interview was also dependent on a good ‘I was wrong’ article by Skeeter, it would be bearable. And so, the headlines flowed.

  
  


“New Headmaster in Hogwarts!

Former Student braves Castle to protect others from Albus the Insane!

Has support of the Board of Governors!”

  
  


“Aurogon Salonar proclaims himself first and foremost a Student of Magic!

Creates magical construct from thin air! Charges it with the protection of the Students!”

  
  


“What has Dolores Umbridge been doing in Hogwarts?

Undersecretary to the Minister missed Dark Lord Dumbledore!

Boy-Who-Lived seen by students limping and bleeding after her detentions!

Umbridge threatened by new Headmaster! Torture of Students is not allowed!

What has the Ministry sent her to accomplish?”

  
  


“Headmaster Salonar: Magic is incredible! Learning its ways should never be _boring_!”

  
  


“New subjects to be taught in Hogwarts:

Magical Culture, Comportment, Beast Magic, Blacksmithing!

‘A Headmaster should not be the only one with a true magical familiar!’

‘Magical Metalworking is nearly a lost art!

For those willing to put in the sweat and toil the reward is worth the effort!’”

  
  


“Magical Comportment: Hogwarts getting a course on proper Manners!

Attendance for Spring Term Mandatory for all Students!

Those who fail to show proper conduct will repeat!”

  
  


“A new focus: Hogwarts will encourage students to produce and create!

New shop to open in Hogsmead after Yule!

Will sell ‘good enough’ student potions and metalcraft!

Profits shared, students receive funds and so does the school!”

  
  


“Harry Potter: A truly powerful Wizard!

See new photos of pitched battle, lifted from a pensieve!”

  
  


“Ten Dark Years: While Britain celebrated, Boy-Who-Lived sent to become a House-Elf!

How did this Happen? How did we miss it?”

  
  


“Did Albus the Insane fear a future Rival in the Boy-Who-Lived?

Did You-Know-Who?”

  
  


“A disturbing shop visit: Harry Potter denied access to his inheritance!

Confined with abusive muggles, guarded but not protected,

Was Boy-Who-Lived prisoner of Albus the Insane?”

  
  


“How did we miss Albus’s fall?

How does his legacy live on in our government?”

  
  


“Where is Albus Dumbledore now? What is he planning?

When will we see his madness again?”

  
  


***

  
  


A/N: Life has decided to limit my free time lately, so I’ve decided to go to releasing a chapter every other Friday. I’m working on a shorter piece telling the story of the Hallows in this fic, I’m hoping to release it on Monday to celebrate the WoW Shadowlands expansion.

  
  
  



	15. Chapter 15: Many Whelps! Handle It!

I own neither franchise! Most of World of Warcraft’s ‘Shadowlands’ lore is not going to be cannon in this fic, because Pebble was outlined and early chapters written before the lore was available. I think my fic will make more sense with ignoring the expansion anyway.

  
  
  


Chapter 15: Many Whelps! Handle it!

  
  


That night, after the feast had wound down, all eight hale dragons, their Lord, Hermione Granger, four Weasleys and the Tonks couple stood in a side chamber of the Chamber of Secrets. Between the users of magic, it had been expanded greatly, given a shallow pool, and now their ‘nursery’ was ready for its occupants. Harry felt decidedly nervous as they gathered food on the side of the room, enough to feed all of the new arrivals. Luckily the dietary needs for all seventy-nine creatures about to be released was the same: meat, organ meat, and some bones to chew on. Between the Castle’s elves and the Basilisk corpse, which Alira and Dalistraza both agreed was safe to eat, there was enough food handy for several weeks at least.

  
  


Another discussion before dinner had wiped away most of Harry’s doubts about using the oath ritual. In a room magically sealed off the Chamber of Secrets main hall, Caliona, Talion, and Vespiona had brought their concerns to their Lord. Harry had honestly not given much thought to the incredibly powerful creatures that had crafted the Dragonflights. The gist of their discussion was that the ‘loyal’ Dragonflights considered the Black, Chromatic, and Twilight Dragonflights slaves of the Old Gods, while those three groups considered the ‘loyal’ Blue, Bronze, Green, and Red Dragonflights slaves of the Titans. (The Storm Dragons fell into this category as well, though they simply didn’t seem to leave their island home often.) Sadly, both sides were right.

  
  


He felt a spark of hate towards the Titans for what had been done to his friends. Though the dragons born of the four original, loyal flights would argue until they ran out of breath the benevolent Titans had _uplifted_ their race, the truth was uglier. The Titan Pantheon had, for whatever reason, seen a powerful race of creatures on Azeroth and through either compulsion, deception, or threats ‘gifted’ that very young race with service to the Titans. When the Pantheon re-shaped the dragons, they had left a void, a need inside of each of them, regardless of color, that ensured their service. On Azeroth, this was filled by the magic that flowed from each Dragon Aspect imbued with Titan’s power and magic, to every member of their Dragonflight.

  
  


All dragons that shared a color also shared a magical bond that flowed through the entire Flight, and more than anything else, it was apparently intended to usurp their will. Malygos’s madness and the war he started, Alexstraza’s captivity and the unwilling service of so much of her Flight; Harry was even convinced that the fall of the Black Dragonflight into madness and evil was the result of Deathwing’s madness flowing through this bond and directly into every mind it touched.

  
  


Now, Harry Potter would step forward and offer what protection he could to seventy-nine minds. _Good God, I hope I can give them better than what they’d have. This Oath, at least I can give them my loyalty in return. I_ **will** _be a better leader than they’ve had. I_ **will** _give them a better future on this world! I_ **Refuse** _to fail them!_

  
  


Aurogos, the resident expert (or honestly just the closest thing they had) on the Prison Sphere finished one last measurement of the room before nodding. There was a large X scratched into the stone, directly in the middle. Now, they were absolutely sure there was enough space for the released creatures to fit.

  
  


Caliona, once the third in command of the Twilight Group, handed Harry the necklace that had been around Ralion’s neck when he first stepped through the portal not quite a week ago. While Caliona hadn’t spoken as much with Harry due to her injury, she had been watching him carefully. In him, she saw another hurt soul, a great deal of potential, and perhaps hope.

  
  


Harry had done everything he could for them, ever since she’d stumbled through the portal and a human teen had treated her bleeding, infected throat. The next morning, she found she much preferred his solution to feeding her, it had more dignity than one of the others chewing a rabbit and giving her the results. He even had Hermione use magic so she wouldn’t eventually soil herself laying on the floor. Harry had been kind to her, and in her life that was so very, very rare.

  
  


Giving him a smile, showing a lot of teeth, she gave him instructions. “That is the key. Touch the key to the sphere without touching the sphere with anything else, then turn it like this. It will probably take magic from you to release the seal. You will need to move backwards quickly. We really have no idea what orientation those inside will have when they emerge. Don’t die under a pile of whelps please.”

  
  


Her last few words carried a light, humorous tone. Harry gave her a smile and turned back to his assigned task. Looking back as he strode towards the sphere, he saw the drakes and humans were standing as had been suggested by Vespiona. It was collectively agreed that those who had traveled with Valistraza should be in the more prominent position, with the new drakes in a more submissive posture to the side.

  
  


The humans stood behind the new faces, save Hermione who was standing with the original three. Talion had actually insisted, arguing this would help show those in stasis that she was with them and could be trusted. Harry would take his place between the two groups of drakes as soon as he was able.

  
  


Feeling as if a great responsibility was about to settle onto his shoulders, Harry steeled his wits and carefully activated the mechanism. While a rather significant drain on his magic, it was not as bad as casting a Fidelius Charm. Once his magic was taken, the sphere glowed briefly, and Harry sprinted away. With so many healers here, he was unlikely to die if he was stepped on, but just the same he preferred to avoid having a mature dragon dropped on top of him.

  
  


In a flash of pink light and a ‘whoosh’ sound, the empty space around the sphere was no longer empty. The nameless mage that had been experimenting on whelps, covetous of the dragon’s longevity and power had stolen whelps wherever he could over at least five years. Apparently he had built his tower a decade before that, beginning the foundation as soon as he could summon and control water elementals according to his journals. He had been careful and clever with his collecting, and had never been caught. With so much war and chaos on Azeroth, those poor souls he stole away in the dead of night were simply assumed dead.

  
  


Now, with some luck, their fortunes would change for the better. Eight each of Black, Red, and light purple Twilight whelps found themselves on the floor, looking around to take in their new surroundings. Mixed around the room were five Blue whelps, sixteen teal Netherwing whelps, five Bronze whelps, thirteen Storm whelps with varied colors from silver and light blue to a shade of purple distinct from the Twilight and Chromatic, and fifteen dark purple Chromatic whelps. While there were certainly some differences beside color, the whelps all held the same body-structure: proportionally larger heads than the drakes, rounder bodies, two tiny horns on their heads, (except the Netherwing, who had just the single horns) and small enough that Harry could comfortably carry one under each arm.

  
  


And towering above them, blinking to restore her vision, was the Red Dragon Broodmother Valistraza. A creature of crimson red scales with a white-cream underside from the end of her tail club to her lower jaw, her head was decorated with five horns: The first on her nose, then a longer pair sweeping up and backwards from the scales on her forehead above her eyes with the short final pair behind and above her mouth. All five horns were rounded down, to prevent accidents with the whelps.

  
  


Harry’s first thought upon seeing her was that he would need a bigger castle for the drakes that had given their loyalty when they became adults. _Well, Potter Manor is rubble right now, might as well build it bigger than it was before._

  
  


His second thought compared her to the other adult dragon he had experience with. _She’s about the same size as the Horntail was, but holy crap that’s a lot more muscles under her scales. Those spikes on her tail aren’t as long as the Horntail’s, but I’m sure hers are sturdier. An altogether different creature, not even counting the intelligence I can see in her eyes. I would_ **not** _have survived stealing an egg from her._

  
  


Looking Valistraza in the eyes as she began to take in the sights around her, her eyes soon focusing on the Red, Blue and Green drakes, Harry brought attention to himself, wanting to reassure the new arrivals. With the aid of a minor charm to increase the volume, he welcomed her. _Ƥ: “Valistraza, you are safe here! Your charges are safe here! Your clutch is safe here, mixed blood or not! The eggs you carry will be subject to the Titan’s laws only over my charred, smoking corpse!”_

  
  


Harry ignored the gasps from the drakes and kept his eyes locked with the Broodmother’s own. _Ƥ: “You are on a different world than the one_ _where_ _you took your first breath. There are still dangers here, but none threaten us right now. Please, fill your stomachs. But first, all of you! Alira the Green is a Broodmother in training, Dalistraza the Red is a healer and her brother Senastrasz is her assistant, two of the humans behind them are trained healers of this world. While you eat, they will begin examining you for what healing you may need, please allow them to help you.”_

  
  


With that, most of the tension in Valistraza’s bearing was released. She stalked forward, outpacing the whelps to turn her flames onto the offered food as was expected. Very young whelps needed their food ‘prepared,’ and it didn’t harm the nutrition much for the older ones either. Taking a seat, allowing her greatly varied clutch to swarm forward onto the offered feast, she began eating herself. Her recent experiences had taught her not to turn down a meal when she could. There were few things that could poison a dragon, and the food smelled safe, if unfamiliar.

  
  


Valistraza watched closely however, as the healers and others began to move among the whelps. It seemed all the drakes had learned the language of this land, and had become fluent in it. Directly checking the health of every whelp would be vastly easier with so many extra hands, though the presence of the new drakes unnerved her. She had fled her Dragonflight for a reason, after all.

  
  


The absence of both Tendrion and Ralion unnerved her as well. Though Vespiona moved with the healers, assisting them as they began assessing the various whelps, to one who knew both her in particular and draconic body language in general, there was something deeply wrong. She was grateful when Caliona came up alongside her. _Đ: “I’m glad to see you looking well Caliona. Tell me, what’s become of those not with us?”_

  
  


Sitting against the larger dragon’s side, Caliona laid her head on the elder’s right forelimb in what was honestly the most unguarded gesture the Broodmother had ever seen from this drake. Valistraza had become comfortable around Tendrion’s group, not just because he was free (And after knowing him for several months, there was no doubting that he was.) from the choking mental influence of the Old Gods, but because the drakes around him were giving their best efforts to be better creatures. Though they sometimes failed, they made every effort that was possible for them.

  
  


Caliona herself had an altercation with the Broodmother that involved bruises, a few drops of blood, and Valistraza gaining an enormous pity for the Twilight Flight when she had embraced and comforted the drake, and Caliona had been _confused._ To see her now comfortably seeking out physical contact, seeking comfort in _touch_ without expecting harm in return was truly a blessing. Less so were her words when she spoke.

  
  


_Đ: “Tendrion did not come to this world. To open a portal, we needed far more power than we had and also a destination. When we were out of options, he called on Cenarius and Elune for help. To ensure our survival, he sold himself into the service of Elune. Ralion was injured yesterday in battle with the insane wizard who was master of this magic school. Our new Lord, the drakes that enrolled as students, and the students themselves rebelled and threw the wizard out._

  
  


“ _When Ralion helped destroy the lethal magic woven against us, his flames fed him far too much. The Blue used an ice stasis spell and the Reds have been feeding their magic in to heal his flesh. Ralion sleeps, but we’ve awakened you now because two drakes lack the power to keep him alive for more than a few more days, they will lose him to exhaustion alone. I don’t understand how exactly they’re healing him; I’m just grateful they are. In my mind I can still see Twilight drakes taking too much_ _power_ _in and falling from the air, screaming.”_

  
  


_Đ: “And our position here? Are we truly on another world if humans walk it?”_

  
  


“ _The stars are different. We had hardships before we reached this world, Vespiona was gravely injured, and we had to briefly abduct a priest to save her. The drakes here were hunting us with a group of mortals, but they’re not the best representatives of their Flights._

  
  


“ _The Red male lost so much in the Second War, he ignored his orders to stand guard over his only remaining sibling. The Bronze saw his future on Azeroth and rebelled to join this group, where he couldn’t see his end. The Blue knows what life enthralled by an insane master is like, the Nexus War nearly broke him entirely._

  
  


“ _The Green, Alira, was in training to tend a brood before she was forced to war. She’s told me that the human, Harry, makes her feel safe. If he wasn’t broken himself, taught to believe he’s unworthy of affection and made to suffer most of his life, Alira might be carrying his Dragonspawn already._

  
  


“ _Whatever else, the human has a good heart. My throat had been slashed before we came here, I made it but the wound… We arrived here in the middle of the night, and Harry Potter and the person he trusts most were both there, Elune had sent him a dream so he would open the portal on this side. They both spent the following few hours treating our wounds, cleaning us, and giving what comfort they could._

  
  


“ _You can probably tell Val, that I’m different than I was. All four of us that made it here are. Elune’s portal showed us what we are, what we’d done. It didn’t free us. Half a day later and the darkness was_ _clawin_ _g at us again. Tendrion once taught us a ritual he’d discovered, ‘An Oath to a Loyal Lord.’ Before the darkness claimed us again, we all swore that to Harry, even Talion, restrained and fighting with everything he could against what lurked within him. He’s our Lord, and his presence chased away those awful whispers.”_

  
  


Valistraza, forgoing table manners for now, paused in swallowing as much of the prepared meat as her gut would allow, turning her complete attention to Caliona, the drake relaxed and comfortable against her side. She had been watching the whelps entrusted to her care as they fed. Whoever had cut up the meat knew what they were doing, even if she was unfamiliar with the animal. It had an odd taste to it, but it wasn’t bad. There were even a few deer and rabbits, and parts of others mixed in. _Đ: “You bound yourselves to serve the human? All of you?”_

  
  


“ _Yes, Val. We were desperate, we could see the truth and we refused to fall back into madness. Maybe Tendrion would have been proud of us after all. But you misunderstand._ **We** _are not simply loyal to_ **him**. _The magic we’ve used, that binds us to his will, forces_ **him** _to be loyal to_ **us** _as well. He_ **can’t** _betray us. His Orders to us have been simple and just what we needed, no more, no less. Elune was kind to us. Harry Potter is a fundamentally kind human. And he has potential, so much potential!_

  
  


“ _His people have chained his mind and tried to grind his spirit into dust, but it wasn’t enough to break him. Senastrasz said that Harry Potter could have just as easily been Harry Lothar, were he born elsewhere.”_

  
  


Around them, the healers and those assisting were still examining whelps. Valistraza saw the mature human woman cast magic, some spell that gave results in symbols and colors on the little ones. _She’s trying to get a baseline on the whelps and writing down the results? Not a bad idea. That’s the fourth she’s tagged, a Red, two Nether and a Storm. Ah, now she's getting results on a Chromatic. I know that frown, perhaps there’s some way to help those harmed by Nefarian, but I have yet to find it. As for this ‘Harry,’ I’ll reserve judgment for now. He’s earned the chance to prove himself, but I won’t be careless with my clutch. Tarengos, my love… I’ll see our children healthy and strong, no matter what I must do._

  
  


Feeling a stirring at her side, Valistraza saw Caliona rise and step back as the female Red stepped up to her. The Twilight drake she’d known for the last few months, mired in darkness but _trying_ nuzzled her briefly before moving to assist others. _Đ: “Greetings Broodmother. I am Dalistraza, perhaps now formerly of the Red Dragonflight. I’d like to examine you, but feel free to keep eating, I can already tell you’re too thin. I’m our best trained healer right now, is there anything I should know about you?”_

  
  


Looking at the drake that was every bit the eager healer she’d seen time and time again through her four centuries of life among the Red Dragonflight, Valistraza inclined her head briefly. _Đ: “If you don’t mind, a few questions first drake.”_ Pleased at seeing the traditional deference to an elder as the drake gave her consent, Valistraza continued. “ _First, are you bound to the human as well?”_ At her nod, worries began to eat at the Dragon. “ _Why? Why would you submit yourself to that?”_

  
  


Valistraza didn’t expect the drake to chuckle self-depreciatively. “ _Ah. My hunting team had become desperate to capture the group you joined. We_ **felt** _the portal open. We were almost positive you were in the sphere, and we had guessed correctly on what that island was, though we had no idea about the scope. To buy time, the Twilights had flooded a cave passage to our shoulders and poured faceless blood into the water. After they were free, the drakes regretted it, and when we used the speak-stone left in sight of the portal for us, the first words were to avoid the water._

  
  


“ _By then, of course, it was too late. Harry had come through the portal to convince us to leave the_ _four_ _drakes in peace, but the water had seeped through skin. Hell, most of us had drunk it. We were left in the position of slowly sinking into the same madness as the Black or Twilight Flights. It might even have been what we deserved.”_

  
  


Dalistraza paused, looking up into the shocked eyes of the older dragon. “ _We, all of us at Hyjal, were far too quick to kill the Twilight dragons. The Twilight Cult? Oh yes, they deserved to die for choosing their side, but the Flight was never given a choice. They were our eggs once, stolen away and tortured in their shells until they would do anything to stop the pain. And we killed so many of them.”_

  
  


Instinct, inborn and carefully nurtured, called to Dalistraza then, as she saw the Red drake before her droop. There was a kindness, a softness that called Broodmothers to their chosen profession. With one of her great wings, she drew the drake to her side, looking into the smaller dragon’s eyes.

  
  


_Đ: “Listen to me now. That is a failure of our_ **leaders** _. For most of our kind, when the Aspects command we have no choice but to follow. We_ **can not** _ignore their orders. Believe me, it is a bitter medicine to realize the Aspect you’ve served loyally is_ **wrong.** _My last question Dalistraza: What are_ your _thoughts on inter-Flight pairings?”_

  
  


For the Broodmother, this was the most important question. While she admitted that she needed a healer after her time on the run, not to mention the possible complications with her clutch, there would be no trust given to one who would want to kill her children. The drake’s answer calmed her greatly.

  
  


_Đ: “Your clutch is under my Lord’s protection. I know you’re worried, but I give you my word that I, nor anyone else here will harm you or yours. Before we came here, I think most of us would have balked at enforcing the Titan’s orders to murder your children. I can’t say if we would have helped you, but I think we would have tried. The Law itself… I can’t understand why it’s enforced! I don’t understand how the Aspect of Life could condone it. Am I just seeing it from a new perspective? Or is my Lord’s opinion on the law overwriting my own?”_

  
  


Deciding to step in, Valistraza spoke up, her front limb rubbing soothing talons gently over Dali’s back. “ _No, little drake. I don’t think your lord has changed your mind on this. You’re simply seeing the Law more clearly now than even Alexstrasza herself. Please, continue your examination, and afterwards tell your Lord I would like to speak with him in private.”_

  
  


From there, the next few hours went well. Most of the room had stopped and stared when a contented rumbling echoed through the room as Dali climbed onto the dragon’s back and channeled warm, soothing, healing magic into an injury her elder had been ignoring for weeks. Valistraza was also diagnosed with several minor mineral deficiencies and given a bucket’s worth of raw liver and hearts to consume. Most of the whelps had deficiencies associated with lack of sunlight, though with the magic being worked on the ceilings to allow light in, it wouldn’t be a problem for much longer. There were some injuries Valistraza had missed, but with so many healers in the room it wasn’t a problem for long. Every diagnostic spell cast on the Chromatic whelps returned troubling results, but that didn’t surprise the Broodmother.

  
  


The Chromatic Dragonflight was an artificial creation, shaped by the mad Black wyrm Nefarian to be a weapon. His goal was to incorporate the distinct powers of all five Flights in one creature. None of them had proven stable, but his research had played a part in the creation of the Twilight Dragonflight later. While Valistraza intended to do everything she could for them, the prognosis wasn’t good. She wasn’t even sure she could keep them comfortable as their conditions worsened.

  
  


Rising, she shook off her worries. As Broodmother of this motley Flight of dragons, she would do everything possible for them, but most importantly she would _not give up hope_. In her experience, the leader she’d abandoned had given up far, far too easily on those that had been ‘tainted.’ In her time with Tendrion and the others, even the _Black_ drake had been making a real effort to be kind to her. If the rest of her Flight had seen a Black or Twilight drake leaning into Valistraza’s side in sleep, wracked with nightmares (“Please don’t leave us here Broodmother! I don’t want to watch all my siblings die!” Or “I’ll serve, I’ll serve! Just please, let the pain stop!” had just been a few of the things she heard that broke her heart.) or seen them so confused by simple kindness, there would have been much more mercy shown.

  
  


Thankfully, with the exception of the Chromatic, most were healthy or nearly healthy. An hour later, after the whelps had all been seen to and were mostly stretching out to rest, Valistraza stood when the human, Harry, told her he’d be more than willing to speak with her in private. The Broodmother even agreed when the Blue drake strongly suggested that a drake bound to Harry accompany them, suggesting Caliona.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

A few moments later Harry, along with Caliona and Valistraza in their mortal forms were comfortably seated inside the Room of Requirement. Harry had been surprised to learn the person in control of the Room could create an exit to anywhere in the castle, though that would seem to be an extremely useful ability. After he and the two dragons entered, Aurogos’s Dragonsworn Sarah Summerland left through a door already present to her dorm room, blushing madly. With a little practice, an Azerothian Dragon could retain their greater than human senses while in their second forms. Both Caliona and Valistraza had given the teen knowing grins as she left the Room in Harry’s hands.

  
  


(Thankfully Aurogos and his Dragonsworn had taken some time to clean themselves and the room itself earlier in the day. Between Naomi and Sarah, they had come up with a few ideas on how to use the Room of Requirement as a control center, observation room, and maintenance assistant for the castle’s wards. As they spent time with Aurogos, he had admitted that his kind tended to lack imagination in some areas, so they decided that his three sworn would aid him with that.)

  
  


Harry had been given a longer explanation of what exactly a Dragonsworn was, and had carefully given an additional command to all his oathsworn. His direct order commanded them not to entrap mortals into their service with false promises, and that the drakes give careful consideration to taking others into their service.

  
  


The drakes understood that Harry was hesitant about magic that compelled obedience, and they gave him their word to respect that. In return, Harry told them he would make every effort to understand their culture and traditions, and that he would not make any hasty judgments in their regard. Hermione had blushed darkly in embarrassment, in hindsight S.P.E.W. had been her attempt to impose her sensibilities on a race of creatures without all the necessary information.

  
  


Under the circumstances however, Harry understood after some thought that there really hadn’t been any better choice. Aurogos certainly seemed happier that evening, one Dragonsworn or another trailing behind him. After some discussions with the drake in question, Harry felt much better about Hogwarts going forward. Many new varieties of useful magic would be taught at the school. And, for those that chose to side with Harry, ‘combat magic’ would be taught to those willing to fight.

  
  


Apparently, the Defense Association would still be going forward, and between Hermione, Senastrasz, and the new Headmaster of Hogwarts, there were _ideas_ forming on what to teach. “This will help the students survive what’s coming and besides you never know when you might need a skilled group to raid your enemy’s lair.”

  
  


In addition to teaching combat to those who sided with Harry, Senastrasz was looking forward to getting a forge prepared and teaching his hobby to the general population. He was already sketching designs for replacing the wrecked suits of armor.

  
  


Dobby was happy to serve tea for the three of them as the Room shifted into a warm, comfortable parlor with an illusion of no wall or roof at all. Judging by the pleased look on Valistraza’s face, she approved of the change in scenery. Harry realized that a house elf might give this newcomer the wrong idea about him, and began a rambling explanation of house elves and how they came to serve his people. Taking mercy on him, Valistraza held up a hand in her mortal form to silence him.

  
  


Taking a moment to order his thoughts, Harry took in her mortal form. She appeared as a Night Elf, and stood at nearly seven feet tall, with pale pink skin, dark purple hair in a simple braid, glowing silver eyes and facial tattoos reminiscent of scaled wings. _Đ: “Peace, young man. That creature bears a great resemblance to the Grell of my world. Unless their nature changed upon arrival, I don’t begrudge their treatment. If you were cruel however, it would be an entirely different matter.”_

  
  


Deciding to spare his voice a conversation in parseltongue, Harry responded in Darnassian, assuming a dragon that wore that form would speak their language. “I have not been cruel to them, but sadly I can’t speak for all of my kind. We’re beginning to think this isn’t the first portal that’s been opened between our two worlds. We have a number of creatures similar to those in your world, and apparently Azeroth has humans as well. It’s interesting, but I assume not what you wanted to speak with me about.”

  
  


Deciding she didn’t get to speak Darnassian often enough, the Red dragon switched languages. Caliona might not be able to speak much of the tongue, but she could comprehend it easily enough. “True mortal. I understand you wish to use the same loyalty magic on my charges as you did with your other drakes? And me as well?”

  
  


Sighing, Harry thought a moment before speaking. “I don’t want to bind them to myself, but from everything I’ve been told about the Black and Twilight Dragonflights, they will need it, and soon. I’m not sure about the Chromatic, and I’m even more hesitant about the others. To be honest, I do not like the so-called ‘Flight Bond.’ I’ve found that the second group of drakes are hesitant to even doubt the Titans no matter what evidence they see, can you help me understand how that’s possible?”

  
  


Finding the warm beverage pleasant, Valistraza enjoyed another sip before answering the teen. There was more than one reason she had requested Caliona for this meeting. “Because it isn’t just the ‘fallen’ dragonflights that are slaves to dark powers. We all are. I have a unique perspective on this sadly.”

  
  


A sarcastic sneer crept onto Harry’s face at that. “Really? You mean your race wasn’t ‘uplifted,’ by wonderful and benevolent beings that have no problem wiping out sentient life in impossibly vast numbers?”

  
  


Here, Valistraza snorted. “Someone’s watched the invasion of Ulduar recordings. ‘A million, million lives wasted!’* That isn’t the work of creatures that have our best interests at heart. Our world was moments away from destruction then, and I failed to see any help materialize for getting the loyal servants of the Titans off the planet. Even if we’d fled to Outland, unless the Dark Portal could be completely closed in time, the destruction would have taken that world as well. Well, ‘world’ is a bit much to describe Outland. Not that we had time to even sever the Dark Portal, let alone evacuate.”

  
  


All three of them had shuddered at the thought of so many lives thrown away. Slumping back into his chair, Harry thought a moment before asking a question. “Do you know how the mental slavery is applied? And how is it you understand this, when the drakes bonded to me can’t?”

  
  


Locking eyes with the young man, Valistraza responded. “I broke the Taboo, one of the highest laws we have. One that should be death for myself, my clutch, and my mate. It’s too late for the Dragon Queen, for the ‘Life Binder,’ to sentence my mate. If he were alive, he would have returned to me and we’d have fled together. To be specific on how I’m free, that requires a little more of an explanation.

  
  


“When the Titans empowered the five Dragonflights, each Titan imbued an Aspect with a different magical essence to serve their purpose for us: they’re powerful energies that grant our Flights powers over Earth, Magic, Time, The Dream, and Life itself. The essence that runs through every dragon binds us to their will, though we don’t need much holding us really. Even in our shells the magic seeps into our heads, shaping our minds to better serve the Titans. But when Tarengos and I mated, when we created life together, the essence of the Blue and Red Dragonflights conflicted. As my mate’s children began to grow within me, the disharmony of the two magics freed my mind.”

  
  


Sighing, she looked down into the cooling cup of tea. “It took time however. I think my mate was affected as well, but not to the same extent I was. I had started asking delicate questions of all those around me, and it served me well with him. Even when he learned what fate awaited us, he was still conflicted. He did give me his oath to wait and see if our children were abominations before acting. I felt dirty convincing him we should leave Azeroth behind, only the fact that I was sure another, safer world would see him eventually freed let me act. We were supposed to leave together, he was making one last trip to the Nexus for information we needed, but he didn’t make it back.”

  
  


Harry let the conversation die out for a time. He wanted to comfort Valistraza, but he really had no idea what to say. “I’m sorry for your loss, Broodmother. You are welcome in this castle and any home I build. I wish it was more, but my family home was razed almost twenty years ago; now I’ve decided to rebuild it as a fortress. After seeing your real form, I also think it needs to be much larger than before.

  
  


“This castle, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is supposedly the most secure magical fortress in the world. The defenses are controlled solely by Aurogos now, and he’s going to be hard at work making it as secure as possible. Between himself and his three Dragonsworn, who are aspiring ward specialists, the castle will soon have every protection he or they can think to add to it. We’re also working on hiring someone trustworthy who’s skilled at tearing down wards to ensure the ward scheme is immune to known methods of ‘ward-breaking.’

  
  


“My godfather has a private island that is open to us as well, but Stine has suggested keeping it empty, or I should say empty to the best of our knowledge. It… honestly reminds me of an ‘adventure’ several years ago that involved a ‘time-turner.’ Long story short, myself and another could go back in time a few hours, but we couldn’t change what had already happened. We could, however, act to get a better result as long as we didn’t change what we knew had already happened, or thought we knew. We did save Sirius from our government though. Time travel is just a big headache.”

  
  


The next hour was spent discussing events around Harry, and the state of the government and nation. In return, Valistraza told Harry more about her people, and what she’d learned about Nefarian’s efforts to create the ‘ultimate’ dragon. Harry found himself at ease with Valistraza, she seemed to exude maternal comfort without the somewhat overbearing behavior of Molly Weasley. It was easy to relax with her.

  
  


Noting the time, Harry spoke again after a comfortable silence. “I think I should bind the Black, Twilight, and Chromatic whelps tonight. Or as many as we can until I run out of blood. For the others, I will leave it to your discretion. As for you, I don’t mind you remaining free so long as you don’t endanger the others under my protection. Just give me your word that you’ll come to me immediately if the Titan’s hold on you starts to restore itself. Magic like that, on that scale, is so far beyond me it’s terrifying.”

  
  


Nodding her head, long ears bouncing slightly, she responded. “That’s acceptable. I know you’re worried about the ‘Flight Bond,’ and if it’s needed for the whelps. I’ll keep a very close eye on all of them. I am free for the first time in my life, but if you prove to be worthy of my loyalty I will give it to you. I admit to having nightmares where I lay my clutch, and then I lose my mind again and I… follow the Titan’s law. There’s one other thing I wanted to discuss with you, if there’s time.”

  
  


At Harry’s nod, Valistraza started to speak again. “You understand how Ralion was harmed, correct? Good. Now, Tendrion and I had many lengthy discussions about his Flight, and the weakness of the Twilight Flame came up more than once. Between stolen tomes and a few books he was planning to take from Karazhan, he thought he could turn that weakness into the greatest advantage our group would have on a new world.

  
  


“Harry, I’m sure the others have mentioned the Dragon Aspects before. Right now, the important part is to know that they aren’t born, they’re made. Do you have any idea how?”

  
  


Thinking for a moment, a thoughtful look appeared on his face as the seconds went by. “It obviously altered them on a physical level, their physical size is proof of that, was that the effect of the Titans giving them so much extra power? Would it be possible to channel excess power harming Ralion away into a separate object or person, make it useful or just dissipate it safely if not?”

  
  


“Ha! Young human you are clever. Tendrion truly thought he could accomplish this, but there’s more. You see, as far as we know, an Aspect’s very physical form alters itself in response to the gifted power. The amount of magical power available to them, and that they generate, is enormously more than even an aged wyrm. Their children are born stronger, more robust; Alexstrasza’s offspring are almost always the most powerful in our Flight.

  
  


“But the greatest thought, the greatest idea Tendrion and I came up with together, during those times we had alone together while the others thought he was ‘showing me my place,’ was that excess power could be used to slowly create a new Aspect. And over a long time, a second, and then a third. It would require great amounts of foreign magic fed into a dragon, preferably in the late drake or early dragon stage, but it was possible. He… offered me empowerment first, he didn’t think himself worthy of it. I had him convinced he should be the second. That was our great plan.

  
  


“I wish he was still with us, but I think the guilt of what he’d done was eating at him. You see, he had kept his mind through the tortures of the old gods, but he still had to do awful things to survive. When he was sent to Hyjal with the first wave of Twilight Dragons, he was so very sure that the other Dragonflights could be convinced to spare his kind, that together with the protectors of life, his entire Flight could be saved. But the first time he met them… He saw only hatred in their eyes. He saw his brothers and sister being killed as if they were nothing but rabid animals. And even though he knew he was on the wrong side of the war, he fought for them. It took him some time before he began to fight back against the Cult.

  
  


“He told me that he saw a Green drake injured, and he knew that he could get her away safe, and that she’d die if he did nothing. That was the start. He never told me how many lives he saved on Mount Hyjal, but I’m sure it was no small number. But to him, it was never enough. I think he still thought himself a monster, a coward for not fighting sooner. I still think he’s the bravest five year old I’ve ever seen. I hope he finds peace with himself while serving Elune.”

  
  


Showing off the pointed canines possessed by the Night Elves, Valistraza yawned widely. “I am looking forward to sleeping without fear of what lurks in the night. But, duty first. Ralion is safe and stable for now, I charged the healing rune with enough power to last him for a day at least. Dalistraza’s method of healing him has likely drastically increased the amount of magic he can wield while destroying the hard-earned control he had over it. But I think he’ll be grateful to be alive at all. I’ll get my notes for that magic-siphoning spell out, might as well have your Blue look them over before we use it. Is there anything else we need to discuss before we take care of the whelps?”

  
  


Standing and stretching his back, Harry spoke after yawning himself. “Only a request that you take Alira under your wing and finish her apprenticeship if she agrees. I’ll let her tell you in her own time but she’s been through a lot, so please be kind to her.”

  
  


“Not a problem at all. A brood of twenty is considered large, seventy-eight whelps would normally need four Broodmothers, so I will take all the help I can get. I’m going to lay my own eggs in less than a month, and that will make my job even harder.”

  
  


With that, the three of them left the Room of Requirement behind for the moment, and moved through the conjured door into the Chamber of Secrets.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


When Harry returned Alira, Andromeda, Dalistraza, and Valistraza began a bi-lingual discussion on the state of the Chromatic whelps, with Andromeda’s notes and a larger pile from Valistraza in Draconic. Hermione ended up joining them as well, Alira hoping her mind would find something they had thus far missed. Harry was content to let them brainstorm for now. Most of the whelps had eaten until they fell asleep, becoming drowsy with full stomachs for the first time in far too long.

  
  


With Ron at his side, Harry went up into the school proper, intending to visit his familiar. A small stop inside what was previously Myrtle’s Bathroom gave him privacy for a mirror call with Sirius. Sirius was doing well for the most part, most of the Order had been treated and sent on their way from Headquarters. Oddly, the wards at Number 12 Grimmauld Place had registered no visitors, and no attempts to breach the defenses. (After the battle with Albus, Sirius had locked the building down, no one should have been able to get in or out undetected. Given that Albus Dumbledore was a man of no small skill with magic, everyone possible was going over the building with a finely toothed comb.)

  
  


Daniel and Emma Granger were rather unhappy, and Harry spoke briefly to them. A brief summation of his history with Sirius, and his own experiences with the Ministry of Magic helped to calm them. As did his unwavering pledge that Hermione would be as safe as he could ensure, and with his new allies, that was getting safer all the time. Although hesitant, they agreed to keep some secrets if Harry arranged for them to visit with their daughter come morning. With help from Kreacher, a notice had been given to the third dentist at their office that a family emergency had come up and they would not be available for some time.

  
  


Sirius had also come through on something Harry had requested in a quiet moment. As Harry ascended the stairs to the Owlery, his fingers brushed the pair of identical mirrors Sirius had crafted for him. Two shrunken rectangular mirrors now the size of his hand, adorned along the edges with blue scales and wings and on the back with sapphire blue dragons, an older, larger one covering a much younger dragon with a wing while both dragons looked over a scroll. Harry had thanked his godfather extensively for the effort he’d put in. (Apparently Nymphadora Tonks had helped, when she heard some of what the item was for.)

  
  


In a separate pocket, Harry grasped bacon as he and Ron walked into the Owlery. Hedwig had always been a very smart owl. Now that he thought about it with a clear head however, over time she had developed some personality traits, and had seemed to become even more intelligent. _I wonder… Did I create a partial familiar bond with her without fully meaning to? Did my magic respond to my desire for a friend?_

  
  


When the two boys entered the school’s Owlery, carefully avoiding other students, they found the owl they were looking for sitting on a perch next to the entrance. In fact, the snow-white owl was looking directly at them as they walked in. Harry found himself smiling as he handed his familiar several strips of bacon. He waited patiently as she consumed her treat until she looked at him again. Smiling, the teen gently rubbed her head. “Hey girl. It feels like it’s been too long since I’ve seen you. How are you holding up?”

  
  


To Harry, the hoot he got in response told him a lot. While it wasn’t something he could make words out of, his familiar still conveyed that she was doing well, but bored. That second part was mostly in her body language and eyes. Holding out his arm, he smiled when his owl took the invitation. “Well girl, I think I can help with that. You up for a tricky delivery?”

  
  


There was no hesitation in the owl’s response as she held out a leg. Harry laughed and gently stroked her with his free hand. “Sorry, but you need some preparation before you do this, along with a little protection. We’re going to sneak you into the school now, and send you out in a few hours probably. Try to stay quiet in the halls, we’re trying to be sneaky.”

  
  


Carefully, Harry took his invisibility cloak out and draped it over both of them. “I know you don’t like having this draped over you, but I bet you’ve never been invisible before girl. Ron, do you need a moment or are you ready to head back down?”

  
  


Shaken out of his thoughts, Ron headed over to where his tiny, hyperactive owl was flitting around, harassing other owls. Harry felt the disgust rolling off the bird on his left arm and chuckled. Hedwig was a very regal creature, with a strong sense of dignity. Pigwidgeon was not.

  
  


Harry’s amusement at Ron attempting to catch his owl was cut short when he saw a pink cardigan coming up the stairs. Snarling to himself, he flexed his wrist, and from the holster on his right forearm, integrated into the bracer Stine had crafted for him, his new wand fell into his waiting hand.

  
  


At the start of term, he would never have considered cursing a Professor first. Now, between the detentions and the months spent conversing with those who had survived wars that made Voldemort’s insurrection look like a tea party, he realized that the only thing that mattered was that the woman was his enemy.

  
  


Dolores Umbridge had proven more than willing to torment children for her goals, and it was hard to categorize that as anything other than evil. And his new friends had made compelling, logical, and reasonable arguments against allowing evil any foothold. Evil if allowed to take an inch quickly spread a mile, creeping, corrupting, turning people against each other for its own gain.

  
  


Of course, it was important not to fall into zealotry, lest you leave suffering in your own wake. Harry had listened intently to the tales of the fall of Lordaeron. How the undead had swept through the land, leaving a nation of corpses. The cautionary tale was how some survivors allowed themselves to be twisted by loss, hate, and fear into an enemy of all not a part of their order, the Scarlet Crusade.

  
  


The Scarlets became fanatics, and in them evil blossomed. Their Highlord was betrayed by his son into an ambush, and then died when that son thrust his own sword into his back. In an ironic twist, an order of humans with the aim of destroying all ‘evil’ was eventually suborned by demons and used for their ends. Not once, but twice.

  
  


So, evil had to be fought, without allowing oneself to become what they struggled against. As he held his wand ready, he watched the witch accost his friend, demanding to know where he was. Carefully, he snuck up behind her, still balancing his owl on his left arm under the cloak. When she began to threaten Ron, Harry sent a whispered spell out. “Confundus.” He smirked as her posture relaxed. Revealing his face he smirked at Ron for a moment before pulling the hood up again. “You want to tell us why you are here.”

  
  


It took two more spells, but the woman admitted to placing monitoring magic on the Owlery to target him. She had already been tipped off about the Defense Association, from students not a part of it and some residents of Hogsmead. Harry thought very hard on what to do with her. Letting Ron see his face again, Harry shrugged.

  
  


Ronald Weasley knew his friend well enough to guess Harry’s thoughts were along the lines of: ‘Well, she’s a problem, how do we get rid of her?’ He gestured for Harry to cast the spell again and spoke after Harry had intoned it. “It is unwise to bother Harry Potter at this time. Albus Dumbledore is at fault, focus your efforts on him.”

  
  


He saw Harry gain a dark smirk, and almost stopped him from speaking. He would have, but the supposed teacher deserved anything she got. He had seen Harry’s bloody, shaking hand after his detentions. He had to fight not to start laughing as Harry spoke.

  
  


“An informant is waiting for one of pure blood to help him protect the Ministry and lead Aurors against Albus Dumbledore. You will find him in a sea cave on the southern coast of Argentina. He desperately wants to do his duty to magical England, but you must find him quickly! You must leave immediately and tell no one where you are going, there are spies everywhere! They’re even listening when you speak to the Minister! You need to leave now or all will be lost!”

  
  


Ron was truly impressed as Umbridge repeated Harry’s words. “… I need to leave now or all will be lost!” Seemingly coming out of her daze, she sneered at Ron. “I will deal with you later, something important has just come up.” Neither could really believe that had worked as the witch stormed out of the Owlery.

  
  


Still feeling a bit of disbelief, Ron turned to where he assumed Harry still stood. “How far do you reckon she’ll get?”

  
  


Harry’s chuckles were moving towards the door as he answered. “Hopefully all the way, if nothing else that would get her out of our hair for a while. And if she doesn’t make it back I won’t cry for her.”

  
  


And that was that. Ron sent off his owl to Bill, letting him know of a full-time position for a curse breaker, with an employer willing to buy out his current contract. The new Headmaster, when Ron had gotten a moment to talk with him, had mentioned bringing in an introductory curse breaking class, as well as someone to test various methods of ward breaking against the castle. Ron wasn’t sure if his brother would be eager to leave Gringotts, as he seemed to get along fine with the goblins. And he had mentioned he was dating a co-worker…

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


A half hour later two boys and an owl were back inside the Chamber of Secrets. Valistraza had woken the whelps up and explained what was happening. The Black, Chromatic, and Twilight whelps were seemingly alright with accepting Harry’s offer after it was explained to them.

  
  


In the main hall of the chamber, Hedwig had taken a perch on an outcrop near the ceiling. Various individuals were amazed when she had listened to Harry’s explanation that the older dragons wouldn’t hurt her, but she shouldn’t surprise them because they still had a predator’s instincts. And the whelps had the same instincts coupled with a distinct lack of self-control.

  
  


All the dragons were inside the whelp’s chamber, soothing fears. It still felt like they were being rushed into this, but whatever magic Elune had incorporated into the portal _did_ only last a few hours. Harry would prefer to get this over with before the darkness tried to take them again.

Harry stood with Hermione in an open space, silver goblets stacked to one side. Harry was glad the one that could double as a bird-bath wouldn’t see use tonight. Looking around, he spoke to Hermione, the four youngest Weasley children, both Tonks, and Aurogos’s Dragonsworn.

  
  


“Everyone understands what I’m doing and why?”

  
  


It was actually Ron that responded. “Evil gods, nightmare imperious, creating a loyalty bond that goes both ways to stand between their minds and dark magic, right?”

  
  


“Yeah. The only difference is that this time they’re much younger. I’m not actually sure how to handle this, some of the whelps will need consoling, for some the evil lurking in their minds made their first acts after hatching fratricide. I appreciate you all being here, to be a comfort to the little ones. Feel free to try comforting them, physical touch does a lot of good. Just remember what Alira said earlier about their poor impulse control and watch your fingers.”

  
  


There were a few chuckles at that. A door opening at the other end of the hall called attention to the widely colorful mass of scales coming into the room. Alira actually looked happy, four different varieties of whelp were riding on her back. It was a bit rowdy as the group came in. There were as many personalities as colors on display as the Broodmother ordered her charges. Soon, a group of seven whelps, two Black, one Chromatic, one Nether, and three Twilight were lined up in front of him and Senastrasz was handing Harry a note with a list of names written on it, thankfully with pronunciation instructions in English. The Red drake, taking his humanoid form leaned in to whisper in Harry’s ear.

  
  


“It turns out the Nether drakes don’t all survive the change from whelp to drake. Bavaku is well past needing to change and weak enough that he isn’t likely to make it; the healers think a bond with you can help his odds a little. They’re going to force his change at dawn tomorrow.”

  
  


Whispering back, Harry gave his idea. “If they think it might help, we’ll take him to Potter Manor before the sun rises tomorrow. The latent magic there might help a new Potter, and the new tree ought to help as well.”

  
  


Smiling at his Lord’s idea, Senastrasz backed up and relayed his idea to Valistraza.

  
  


Steeling himself, Harry took a deep breath and smiled to the seven frightened young ones in front of him. Speaking to them, deciding to ignore the hall at large he started their ceremony.

  
  


_Ƥ: “Hello little ones. I know your lives have been hard, you wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. My name is Harry Potter, and last week I was just another student here at this magic school until I got a very strange dream. When I woke up, I raced to the right place and opened this side of a portal to your world. I did it because I_ **knew** _there were people in danger and I could help them. That’s what we’re about to do now._

  
  


“ _The magic we’re about to do might seem scary, but it’s really just a promise. I promise you to keep you safe, to keep you healthy, to take care of you as best I can. And because it’s magic, it’s a promise I can never, ever break. With this, you’re making a promise too. You’re promising to work together with me, as long as we live. I wish there was another way to keep you all safe, but if there is I don’t know it._

  
  


“ _I won’t force you to do this, because of the magic, I_ **can’t** _force you_. _If you work with me, together we will have a safe home, a purpose going forward, and a future we can be proud of. Will you help me?”_

  
  


With shy affirmative responses in draconic, the first ritual began.

  
  


A shy Twilight whelp accepted the silver knife and goblet from Dalistraza, and began the ritual. _Đ: “I, Andestraza, the Twilight Dragon, do hereby swear myself to Harry James Potter so long as I draw breath.”_ Saying this, she paused, with a trembling claw drew blood and while spilling much, got a small amount into the silver goblet. “ _I offer you my life’s blood to bind myself to you, the Lord I have chosen. Please accept my service.”_

  
  


(Later, Harry would ask Valistraza about this whelp’s, and some of the other’s names as they broke what he understood to be a fairly strict custom. The answer was heartbreaking. Many of the rescued whelps did not have names at all, some had been hatched by the cruel mage and simply left in their cages with their shells.

  
  


Valistraza told Harry that she had been working on a list of names for her clutch since she learned she was carrying, and when a little whelp had admitted to not having a name, started giving out those she was saving for her own children. From another source, he learned that this was culturally tantamount to a formal adoption, a promise that she would do everything she could for all of them until they left her care as drakes.)

  
  


When the shaking claw handed him the goblet, nearly spilling it in the process, Harry smiled at the little creature and sipped the blood.

  
  


_Ƥ: “I accept your service, given in good faith Andestraza of the Twilight Flight.”_ Bending down to accept the knife offered to him handle first, he cut a finger and added three drops to the goblet before passing it back to her. “ _Take my blood that you may know the bulwark of a Loyal Lord.”_

  
  


With that the whelp drank the contents of the goblet, though with the amounts of blood involved it looked more like licking residue out of a bowl. “ _Will you, Andestraza of House Potter give me your service, in whatever manner I ask of you to your very last breath?”_

  
  


“ _I give you my service to my last breath, of my own free will my Lord.”_ With that, a bright white flashed through the Chamber of Secrets and the silver goblet shifted until it formed a thick bracelet on the whelp’s right forearm. Once more, the symbol of House Potter, a rapier crossed with a wand over the words “Timor non est in facie mali.” or “No fear in the face of evil.” appeared on the new jewelry.

  
  


Harry gently reached down and took hold of the whelp, holding her in his arms before he set her down next to Caliona who was obviously amused with the little whelp curling up under her wing and quickly falling asleep after Harry’s command: “You will never hear any voice projected into your mind, be controlled or influenced by any foreign mental influence other than this oath. Rest now, as long as you need.”

  
  


With a fatherly smile, Harry left Andestraza with Caliona and moved on. Bavaku was next, and afterwards he felt Netherwing whelp pulling at his magic. With a gentle touch, Harry simply told him to take as much magic as he needed. Bavaku ended up resting on Harry’s shoulder during the rest of the rituals. While he felt a little silly, Harry could tell the small guy was nervous so let him rest there. Harry did get smiles from the group at large when the young male leaned into his hand every time he rubbed or scratched him.

  
  


After Bavaku, the Black whelps Lethordia and Uldames, the Chromatic Khadagos and the Twilight siblings Bodresrasz and Ylistrasza finished up the first group. _Seven_ _down, twenty-_ _five_ _to go if there’s no others that need this tonight._

  
  


It did end up being a late night. After another half hour, Harry asked in English for the healers helping tomorrow to turn in. Later that night, when he finished, Harry’s entire arms were in agony from the ritual. After the first six, he started only bleeding his left hand, but something in the ritual sent power through both arms. Both arms shook badly by the last he intoned the ritual and gave the orders to protect young minds.

  
  


Parseltongue did not cause pain in small doses, but prolonged use was a painful reminder that his tongue and throat were not, strictly speaking, built to make those sounds. Alira had been helpful, a delicate elven hand on both locations channeled soothing magic helped to heal, but still left it feeling painfully raw. In addition to everything else, his magic was drained and flickering oddly within him.

  
  


As various creatures moved to rest for the night, Harry had one last task ahead of him. Gesturing at Hermione, who was starting to nod off against the wall, he spoke with her in a raspy, painful voice with Aurogos waiting to take them into the Room of Requirement. “Hermione, I need something out of my pocket but my arms won’t work. This one on my left side.”

  
  


A few moments later, Aurogos was holding the two beautiful mirrors in his hands. Fighting past the building pain, Harry explained. “Paired mirrors. Activation phrase for both is ‘Learning by Teaching.’ They’re private to all others. At least while the portal holds, you can keep in touch. Felt like he meant something to you.”

  
  


Gratitude in his face, Aurogos bowed low for a moment before Teleporting into the Room of Requirement. Shortly after, a door appeared in front of Harry and Hedwig alighted on his shoulder. Ted Tonks followed Hermione, Harry and Senastrasz through the door.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Their plan for the first mail delivery between worlds involved a carefully made portkey, which would take Hedwig most of the way to the Azurewing Repose, Senegos’s lair/home/magical fortress. Aurogos explained it was built into a hillside and covered in so many illusion spells you could walk past it and never know anything was there. Once Senegos allowed you in, it was possible to ignore the illusions and see his home.

  
  


It was a rather intense briefing, involving maps of Azeroth, a full-scale model of Senegos that made Harry realize Valistraza still had a good deal of growth coming to her later in life, and a fast review of the magic Ted Tonks would need to craft a portkey so Hedwig would end up in the air above the island in question. (While he wasn’t licensed by the Ministry of Magic, Ted had studied portkey creation and knew the spell well.)

  
  


As they covered the necessary information, Aurogos watched his Lord’s owl study the maps. As they continued, he became convinced that Harry already had some kind of familiar bond with his owl, though it could probably be improved. There were ‘smart’ animals and then there were ones enhanced by magic. Unless he had missed something and this was normal behavior for an Earth owl, instinctual magic from his Lord had likely formed parts of the magical familiar bond that he’d seen in a tome reproduced in this room.

  
  


Feeling adventurous, Aurogos was already planning to combine parts of that magic that shared intelligence, magic, and minor traits (Enhanced eyesight, or slightly faster reflexes usually. Minor effects that were still useful.) with a spell called ‘Tame Beast’ in Common. More interesting than Tame Beast were a number of other dependent spells that became possible upon a successful cast. ‘Eyes of the Beast’ allowed one to see through and directly control the familiar, while ‘Revive Pet’ actually resurrected a dead animal companion. It was much easier to return a fallen animal to life than a human thanks to the lack of a soul.

  
  


Harry, exhausted after all that he had done found himself nodding off. No one begrudged him that, though he did join the group heading through the portal when he was gently shaken awake later. When all was ready Hedwig was prepared with a shrunken trunk attached to one leg and a band of blue stone on the other. Azeroth was a dangerous place, so as many protections as possible were placed on the small stone. (For this delivery the obvious magic of a Blue Dragon clinging to the owl would let the locals know Hedwig was friendly.) She was also to carry a small note with instructions on how to enlarge the trunk.

  
  


Aurogos smiled as Harry blearily walked through the portal, following Senas with Hermione and Ted following behind him. Hedwig had retaken her place on his shoulder when he woke up and got moving. While it would have been easier to simply step through the portal himself and cast a simple Mage portal spell, the drake had already determined that leaving Earth would sever his connection with Hogwarts and cost him the post of Headmaster. Sadly, that was too useful a thing to give up just now.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Just to the side of the portal, Senastrasz was watching the three humans as they stepped through. Harry wavered a little before moving to lean against a wall, Hermione stumbled and fell over before he caught her, and Ted followed Harry’s actions his first time through and simply passed out. He chuckled as he laid the three against the cavern wall.

  
  


A quick look around proved no one had penetrated the Fidelius covering the portal, and from what he could see the cave outside was undisturbed as well. Unless Ted Tonks had learned Darnassian recently, they would need to step outside the Fidelius to send their message, but that could wait a few moments. It was about half-past two in the morning now, (In Scotland; the drakes had admittedly lost track of the local time on Azeroth.) but after this last task everyone would sleep for a time. A quick report through his speak-stone let the other side know Ted was down for the moment with magic intoxication, but the others were mostly fine.

  
  


Ten minutes later Ted was up and alert, and after a few tests in the adjacent cavern showing that portkeys worked the same on this world, they were ready. Though bleary, Harry handed Hedwig the small scroll.

  
  


“Okay Hedwig, I need you to take this to Senegos in Azsuna on the Broken Isles. Stay there until he sends a response, we should be able to organize a return trip so you don’t have to fly all the way back here. Remember the cave here is south of the big troll city, Zul’Gurub. But don’t fly back if you can help it, it’s a dangerous world out there and there’s a lot of things that would try to hurt you.”

  
  


With that, Ted handed the portkey to Hedwig and tapped it with his wand. With luck, his owl would safely reach the air high above Azsuna and reach Senegos within a few hours. But for now, Harry was simply exhausted. With few words said he led them back through the portal, and gave an order to the drakes to wake him at least half an hour before dawn so he could prepare to help with Bavaku.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


*- A direct quote from ‘Algalon the Observer,’ a Raid boss in Ulduar. He’s basically part of a Titan fail-safe and responsible for wiping out all life on the planet if set criteria are met.

  
  


A/N: If you’re confused about how Valistraza had her eyes opened in regards to the Titans, think of what happens if you have two different radio signals or sound waves that almost but don’t match up on the same frequency. Basically, they either cancel each other out entirely or disrupt each other.

  
  


I’d like to thank hkurtz2013 at FF.net for looking my chapters over, he’s been a big help.

  
  


T hank you to everyone who’s left a review! I appreciate every one and the keep me motivated to write more!

  
  
  



	16. Chapter 16: I command you to Live!

I own neither Franchise! An updated guide to plot relevant dragons is posted after the chapter. I admit to not having named most of the whelps, though some might get names eventually. Thanks again to hkurtz2013 at FF.net for helping me edit new chapters!

* * *

  
  
  


Chapter 16: ‘I Command You to Live!’

* * *

  
  


Harry did in fact fall asleep quickly upon returning to Hogwarts, exhaustion taking its toll now that all the day’s necessities were taken care of. Aurogos, still in command of the Room of Requirement, called for Stine and Alira. Using the Room and his knowledge of temporal magic, Stine was able to fashion another time-dilation field. This one would only turn seven minutes into seven hours, but that ought to be enough for their Lord to get some rest before dawn. With a nod to those remaining inside, the Blue drake led everyone save Alira and Hermione out, trusting Harry to their tender care.

  
  


Carefully following instructions, Hermione and Alira activated the magic to speed up time after Dobby had provided a bountiful breakfast under charms to keep it fresh until needed. Both of them then helped an unconscious Harry out of his clothes and into a bath. Though horribly embarrassed, Hermione agreed that Harry could _really_ use it, and being clean would certainly help him sleep better. At the Green drake’s suggestion, Hermione helped bathe Harry while nude, in a large hot tub. But only _after_ the express promise that Harry would absolutely not wake up during his bath.

  
  


Hermione was slightly alarmed when her new ‘sister’ poured a vial into the water and the water turned a light shade of green. After a few moments exposed to the substance, the teen offered no arguments against the herbal mix that gave her such a peaceful, calm feeling as it seeped through the skin. Between herself and Alira, now in her elven form, Harry was soon clean and soaking in the healing, calming water.

  
  


After applying sticking charms to Harry to ensure his head remained above the water, Hermione offered to take part in the Draconic custom of helping each other bathe. It really was a necessity, their quadrupedal form entailed more than a little difficulty reaching a lot of areas. And to be honest, Alira’s memories of comfort and companionship from those earlier times in her life were... pleasant for a girl who’d not had a single friend before Hogwarts and not many after.

  
  


Fully embracing the mental link, Hermione used gentle and firm strokes of a provided brush to cleanse the drake’s scales. It turned out children were messy regardless of species, but the substances in the water soothed tired muscles even as Hermione worked. When it was her turn, things became a little awkward when the teenager saw some of Alira’s fantasies regarding the three people in the water and a possible future.

  
  


_I’m sorry Hermione. I don’t mean to upset you, but my people often have polygamous relationships. If all involved care for each other and are willing, I really don’t see what the problem is. If two women love the same man, and are willing to put their loved ones happiness above their own, a family of three individuals can work._

  
  


_You’re worried about jealousy Hermione? Do you think if my fantasy ever comes to life I would be jealous of you and our mate?_ Green scales or pink flesh, both blushed powerfully at the images that burst forth from Alira’s imagination of the three of them on a massive bed, Hermione on her back with a slightly older, slightly more confident Harry making love to her, before Alira’s nude elven from came to snuggle with both of them in the afterglow.

  
  


_Hermione, all I ask is that you think carefully about the possibilities. I will_ **never** _betray_ _the_ _trust you’ve given to me._ _As your healer and your friend, I think that you will not regret choosing Harry as your mate, whether or not I join the two of you. It would_ _not_ _be_ _right_ _for me to dictate anything to my Lord or the woman at his side._

  
  


_However, I_ _’m_ _firmly convinced that_ _the three of us_ _would be very happy_ _together_ _. You know a lot of reasons why I’m for it, but consider his tenacity earlier tonight. As_ _one of_ _his healer_ _s_ _I know he was in agony by the fifteenth whelp, but not only did he keep going, he taxed his throat even more when comforting and soothing every young one he could. If he’s willing to do that for children not his own, imagine what he would do for his own offspring and their mothers._

  
  


_If we chose to share him, do you ever think he would let us feel unloved or miserable? Or do you think he would move heaven and earth just to see us smile?_

  
  


With a smile on her face Hermione relaxed as elven hands, being very careful not to be amorous, cleansed the day’s grime from her skin responded back in the shared mental dialogue. _I don’t think there’s anything that can stand between a determined Harry Potter and what he’s after. He’s been my best friend since he refused to let the fact he knew almost no magic stop him from saving me from a troll. I wish I had seen what was being done to him sooner, I wish I could have done something to help him._

‘Speaking’ up, Alira interjected. _You tried, sister. I can’t show you yet, but if he ever doubts himself, I’m planning to drag him into this place and show him a memory that was taken from you. We’ll do everything we can to help him. For now just relax, we’ll soak a little longer in here and then rinse the herbs off and sleep. An extra seven hours will give Harry enough time to rest, and us as well._

  
  


Leaning against Hermione, Alira spoke a bit more as they lazed in the warm water. _I’m not looking forward to tomorrow Hermione. The hardest lesson a healer has to learn is that_ _sometimes you do everything_ _right and_ _you can and still_ _lose_ _a_ _patient._

  
  


_The Netherwing Flight began as Black eggs that survived the explosion of Draenor. I have no idea how or why a magical explosion powerful enough to tear a planet apart_ _altered_ _them, but it wasn’t a ‘clean’ mutation. In a few generations problems like little Bavaku has will probably be gone, but…_ _t_ _he little guy isn’t likely to survive. The biological-magical process we use to store nutrients isn’t quite right with him, but his body is still past due to change. It was probably cruel to Harry to bond him to the whelp, but it should help tomorrow. And if Bavaku doesn’t make it, at least he’ll have a good memory of being welcomed, of being wanted to take with him into the next life._

  
  


From that sobering thought, conversation between them shifted to happier topics for a time, until they exited the warm water, rinsed the herbal concoction off, and slipped Harry into bed. Hermione had spelled some sleepwear onto the boy _,_ and used the Room to provide something suitable for both her and Alira.

  
  


That night, the two of them curled up around Harry and began their attempts to stymie the parasite infecting him. Five hours later the two had only loosened a tiny bit of its hold and smoothed out a place where it had attacked Harry’s mind. But progress was progress, and Hermione accepted Alira’s guidance to use a useful trick that Alira’s people had figured out. Hermione used the Green Dragonflight’s magic now within her to fall into a trance that rejuvenated a creature in only a few hours at the cost of being completely unable to wake during that time.

  
  


Alira remained inside Harry’s mind, however. The parasite was fluctuating oddly, and something seemed to be using it as a conduit now. Hermione would be useful in mental combat like this after some training, but for now it was safer for both of them to keep her out of the line of fire. Wrapping herself in power pulled from the Earth’s version of the Dream, she waited. Obscuring her form in the shape of a gold and red gryphon the size of a full-grown dragon, the borrowed power formed a second shape both protecting and obscuring her own.

  
  


If this was a foreign intruder, she wanted nothing to link Harry to ‘Ral Elsington’ just yet. The supposed animagus form’s vastly different coloring, slight differences in build, and gender would mean nothing on this world. And so, with the enormous gryphon’s form bringing to mind a vague memory from Hermione of fictional battle machines, shaped after and piloted by humans, Alira waited as that pressure she had felt continued to build. Eventually she felt a presence within the very edge of this mental realm, one that did not belong. It would not be allowed to even probe her Lord’s defenses.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Lord Voldemort was not having a good day. The initial amusement at Dumbledore fleeing for his life had ebbed the evening after the battle when Lucius, upon returning, had informed him that Severus Snape was scheduled to be interrogated under veritaserum. Apparently his spy had a long list of people that wanted to see him hang even at the ministry. Lucius told his Lord that he had used a patsy to push back the interrogation for health reasons. Severus had, after all, been hit with so many cruel bits of magic during the battle. (And more than one _after_ the battle.)

  
  


As a Dark Lord, he could appreciate the eagerness in Lucius’s voice when he offered to see to Serverus’s demise, a simple matter of two potions interacting after being consumed, _how sad._ That the proposed poison would have left Severus screaming for hours as his own body’s magic slowly converted every drop of blood into fiery acid without any chance of reprieve _was_ inspired, and something to remember for later.

  
  


Sadly, the potion master’s value was still greater than what could be gained by his death. With a promise to leave the man’s death to Lucius if it became necessary, he ordered the man to get Severus released at all costs and return with him to the mansion.

  
  


That had been a rather large hassle in the making. As it turned out, Dumbledore’s clout had been the only thing keeping the spiteful man out of Azkaban since the destruction of his body. Lucius had returned and admitted that the amount of gold needed to keep the spy from spilling everything would be exceedingly cost-prohibitive. Not even the Malfoy vaults could afford to bribe everyone needed. The Aurors hated the man for his inadvertent diminishment of their numbers by refusing to teach all but the highest scores past their O.W.L.s while his abysmal teaching skills kept that number low. Nearly everyone else hated him for the hateful manner in which he had treated their children.

In the end, the man had been sprung with careful use of a shrunken trunk, an invisibility cloak, and a portkey. Lucius had even arranged for a Junior Auror, a Mr. Flint, to claim he saw Dumbledore’s phoenix swoop in and remove the man. A handy misdirection to be sure, but somehow the trunk only had the illusion of a ladder after the first few rungs. In a further fit of pique, the Head of the Malfoy family had actually charmed the interior of the trunk into an efficient, automated torture device. It was only the fact that it was carefully enchanted not to kill those within that spared Lucius the full force of his Lord’s wrath.

  
  


Needless to say, it had been only today that Severus Snape had regained consciousness enough to give his report. In the end, the Dark Lord had not spared Severus Snape the lash, holding back only enough to prevent permanent damage to his talented hands. The fool had thrown away his position at Hogwarts for a petty grudge! Voldemort had trouble believing the man had ever earned a place in Slytherin if his first response to a user of unknown and powerful magic was to _needlessly antagonize him!_ Throwing himself against an unknown? That was what you used other people for!

  
  


So, the man once known as Tom Riddle really ought to have known that his day wasn’t going to improve at that point. Using the connection to Harry Potter, his goal was to gradually manipulate the boy into fetching his prize from the Ministry. It would be subtle, slow work to break down the boy’s defenses to nothing and deprive him of restful sleep until his ability to make good decisions was gone. Now, pushing his will through the connection between him and the boy, after the little fool had finally gotten to sleep sometime near three in the morning, he found an unknown creature standing between him and the boy’s mind.

  
  


Both stood in a mental plane, though his physical manifestation lacked a true form, here he simply existed as a black cloud. Before him a gryphon in the colors of the house of lions stood, between himself and the boy’s mind. _However, I’ve never seen one that large or muscled. Or breathing some green vapor. What the hell is going on here?_

  
  


The enormous beast was obviously standing guard, and it’s eyes were dull, like glass or cut gems. He’d assume it wasn’t alive except for the fact that it was breathing, and exhaling some kind of green gas. At first it was standing still, doing nothing. Then its head swiveled to him, and its posture changed. _It’s just standing there, watching me. What the fuck has Potter done now?_

  
  


Deciding to attempt to assault the boy’s mind in spite of this complication, Voldemort willed his form to move around the gryphon blocking the pathway to Potter’s mind. While a good idea in theory, and almost appearing successful, it did not work. The towering creature waited until he was close to its side, and when he was in range it spewed a torrent of green mist on him. As it turned out, that mist was highly corrosive acid.

  
  


After bathing him in the substance, the creature repositioned itself between him and Harry Potter’s mind. Also, it was taking a deep breath. Darting forward, as much as was possible in this mental form, Voldemort attempted to directly attack the creature. Instead of tearing the gryphon apart however, the substance it was made of grabbed the destructive tendrils he sent out and _pulled._

  
  


About then, Lord Voldemort’s vaunted survival instinct reared up and demanded retreat. Thinking quickly, the amorphous cloud attempted to reel in the caught parts and when that wasn’t possible, he severed them. Luckily, this decision wouldn’t cost him memories or any truly important part of himself. The only cost to leaving those parts of his mental representation behind was a significant loss of magic, but nothing that wouldn’t replenish within a few days.

  
  


_Damn you Harry Potter!_ _T_ _his isn’t over!_ Voldemort thought as he fled down the link to his own mind. To his servant’s dismay, for the next few days the man once known as Tom Riddle suffered an enormously painful migraine which he assumed to be a result of the mental battle. In fact, he was lucky to only suffer a bit of pain as a result of pushing most of his conscious mind into and out of a Temporal Acceleration Field. Unknown to anyone, the magic he expended to push through was absorbed by the surprisingly robust field and used to prolong the interior effect by several hours.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


If Alira was in her physical body, she would be sweating as that foul presence drifted away from her. (Well, maybe. Mental constructs could be weird, especially for Green dragons. Their power over the Dream tended to blur what was real and what they only _thought_ was real at times.) _Well, something else to speak to Aurogos about come morning. That creature left a good deal of unshaped magic behind, I’ll just store it away for now. Guess Hermione’s learning mental combat. It seems I’ll need a sparring partner anyway._

  
  


For the rest of the night, Alira maintained her vigil at the edge of Harry’s mind. When she felt Harry’s mental defenses reinforced by his conscious mind as he woke, she slipped into a resting trance of her own, trusting Hermione and her Lord to watch over her.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Harry’s eyes snapped wide open when he woke. He felt rested. That shouldn’t have been possible between his exhaustion and the scarce few hours he had to sleep. Slipping out of the full bed, carefully ignoring the two female forms nestled against him, he looked around. There was the portal to Azeroth behind its defenses and he found himself wondering how Hedwig was doing.

  
  


Becoming angry that he’d been allowed to sleep in, that he had missed the attempt to save Bavaku’s life, he found his new wand sitting on a bedside table and snapped out a ‘Tempus’ spell. Then, however, he had to stop and think about the results. Either he had slept the day away and it was tomorrow, or something strange was going on. Given that the seventy-three day stint in the Dream had been his idea, (Well, sort of. He had just figured out a way to use the drake’s powers in a way they hadn’t thought of.) he decided to wait until the other two woke up.

  
  


Going over to the available food he poured himself with a hot cup of tea, looking at the girls. He had tried to alter the Room, but wasn’t surprised to find himself unable. His guess was that it was under Hermione’s control, judging by the current layout’s style. Harry found himself slightly concerned about the implications of the bathtub that could seat ten, the fact that he was clean, and the entirely new clothes he was wearing.

  
  


Partway through his cup of tea, he helped himself to the food. Not enough for a meal, just enough to tamp down his hunger so he could focus. First, he sunk into his own mind and examined his mental defenses. With them checking out, he reshaped a few weak points that he came across before pulling back to himself. Feeling only a few moments had passed he again cast the Tempus spell, but it returned exactly the same result it did earlier.

  
  


Taking a few more moments to finish waking and clearing his mind, he relaxed and focused on the exercises he’d been shown at the ruins of Potter Manor. Sensing even his own magic wasn’t easy right now, and it was made harder by the overlapping effects in this room. Turning his focus inward, he could feel _something_ within him, but it kept slipping away when he tried to focus on it.

  
  


In retrospect, grabbing that power within himself had been easy while he was fighting Dumbledore. Aurogos’s explanation of his own magic an ocean influenced by his emotion, easy to touch when turbulent and harder to grasp when calm, wasn’t perfect, but then again it wasn’t as if magic was simple to quantify. Oddly, it seemed as if every time he tried to grasp the magic within and failed, the next attempt got a little closer.

  
  


He really thought he was getting close when he felt Hermione settle next to him, still wearing the clothes she slept in. Harry wouldn’t say her attire was very revealing, but she was showing off more of her figure than usual in silky dark blue pajamas that reached almost to her ankles and wrists. While covering everything, they did provide evidence that Hermione was both a woman and notably perky. In fact, she appeared exceedingly well rested and awake.

  
  


“Hello Harry. You’ve probably noticed, but we’re in the Room of Requirement with a rune set Stine set up active. Basically we have seven extra hours in here to rest, in fact the effect should be ending shortly. I think we have a couple hours until we need to leave the Castle.” With that, Hermione passed Harry his refilled cup of tea, smiling at returning a favor from the first time she woke in this Room.

  
  


Sipping his tea, Harry thought for a moment. Returning her smile, he spent a few moments explaining what he was doing. He knew his best friend had a powerful curiosity to her, and the possibility of an entirely new way to use magic would be something to truly excite her. After getting her started, he asked her to pass him control of the Room.

  
  


While he served himself a hearty breakfast he started issuing commands to the Room. Harry was hoping there was something in the archive here, which most of their group believed was able to access either every book that had entered the castle or had ever been in the library. He was determined to find something to help Bavaku. It wasn’t even the Oath pushing him to do this, just his desire to help him if there was even a one in a thousand chance it would save his life. (Rather, the Oath would have pushed him to find a way to help, but there was no need. Harry’s search was his own. The earlier moments had only been a way to clear his mind.)

  
  


Sadly, there was nothing he could find on the specific problem of the little whelp which seemed to be a problem with the process that would see him grow from a whelp into a drake. There was an ‘error’ in the retrieval process for the needed nutrients that would likely prevent him from surviving the transition; but at the same time his strength was being sapped by the storage process itself and he’d die soon without changing.

  
  


After a few moments, Hermione abandoned her attempts to sense magic, seeing the pile of books haphazardly thrown about; she guessed what his thoughts were and offered her help. The problem was that the only texts that could really be of use were scrolls that had obviously been copied from Alira’s and Dalistraza’s reference materials which, unfortunately, stubbornly remained in Draconic.

  
  


An hour later Harry, having only a notepad with only a few scratched out ideas, grew desperate. Not sure what else to try, he closed his eyes and thought hard. _Room, I require something to help Bavaku survive in a few hours. I don’t know what I need. I don’t understand the problem and those that do don’t expect him to make it, but there has to be something!_

  
  


When nothing happened immediately, Harry closed his eyes in frustration. Part of him really wanted to take out his wand and destroy something right then. Instead, a loud thump hit the table in front of him. A large tome was open to a specific page, but Harry could read little of it, as it was written in the language only known as ‘Common,’ the Azeroth trade tongue that was originally meant to be easy to learn for commerce between different races. (Eventually, the language had been codified by scholars in the city-state of Dalaran to ensure it remained easy to learn and met the needs of humanity going forward.)

  
  


It was an odd book, and it took some time to make sense of what he was seeing. He and Hermione had picked up a little Common during their stay in the Dream, Hermione more than he, but neither was exactly fluent. Turning to the witch, he saw that he already had her attention. She was looking from her place next to him, examining the strange book.

  
  


Carefully, without losing the open page, Harry shifted the book so she could read the cover, hopefully giving them some idea of what they were looking at. After a moment, Hermione spoke in a disbelieving tone. “Harry, I think it’s some kind of children’s book. Alira told you a little about the link we share now and I can vaguely remember it from her memories. It’s a dragon’s children book, something to help them learn different languages.

  
  


“If Alira was awake I could tell you everything about it, but we’re both still adapting to being in each other’s heads. It doesn’t help that there’s things I’m not allowed to see, but she’s going to talk to you about them when she gets a chance and I’m deep asleep. But, back to the book itself. I think the title is ‘Big Book of Villain Lines.’ There’s a way to make recorded sounds play, but I don’t know what it is. What specifically were you asking for?”

  
  


Harry told his friend, and Hermione in turn described the trance she used to catch up on her sleep. “Like the magic stretching out time in here, it shouldn't be used often. Once in a while won’t hurt, but you really don’t want to push it. I’m guessing she used it herself since I can’t wake her, but I have no idea how long she stayed up after sending me to rest. What are we going to do?”

  
  


After a reflexive calling of Dobby failed, and another cast of Tempus failed, Harry realized they had little choice but to wait out the temporal effect. He had no idea of what breaking it early would do. “We’ll try to figure out how to get the book to work. That’s about all we can do until Alira wakes or the effect runs out.”

  
  


Half an hour later, the temporal dilation effect ended. By then, Harry and Hermione had gotten the book to say three words, the meaning of which they weren’t sure. The tome seemed to be broken. More than a little confused, Harry passed control of the room to Hermione and slipped through a handy doorway to wake Stine. After a bit of prodding, they were back in the Room with a Tol’vir that really looked like he needed a cup of coffee.

  
  


A painfully brief discussion took place where Harry fished for but did not demand hints for events that would occur on this day’s dawn, no matter how much he wanted to _tell_ Stine to quit with the secrets. In this case, Harry was not quite willing to breach the laws of causality, as he was willing to believe such a thing would be ‘bad.’ Hermione helpfully repeated warnings given to her with the Time-Turner about possibly writing herself out of existence. Privately, Harry returned to an old thought of how those in authority were absolute idiots for giving a thirteen year old girl an item that dangerous. (Then again, perhaps that had been the point. Hermione _had_ shown up a lot of pureblood children in her first two years at Hogwarts.)

  
  


Stine was, however, more talkative about the item in question. “This is ‘The Big Book of Villain Lines;’ it’s a children’s toy. Granted, a rather interesting one. It contains recordings of Azeroth’s most famous ‘bad guys.’ Our young often had great debates over which villains were ‘the best’ or which ones had actual reasons for their evil. Even though the debates sometimes deteriorated into brawls, two wyrms thought the subject was thought-provoking enough to create this. Khanagos the Blue and Janedormi the Bronze created the spell work and many copies; they were very close friends before they disappeared. The book is actually an impressive work of magic, you see it’s self-updating. I wasn’t aware we had one with us, actually.”

  
  


“Stine, this copy was produced by the Room when I asked for something to help Bavaku. This is the page it was open to, can you get it to work? And maybe translate as well, neither of us know Common very well so we may have missed something.”

  
  


With that, the Bronze drake in his fuzzy form moved over to the book and pressed his index finger to the only entry on the first page. Before he activated it with a small pulse of magic, the page held a moving picture of a metal hall in a large structure, with visible patches of frost in some places of the depiction of Icecrown Citadel and several paragraphs of information pertaining to it’s place in history. When the magic activated, an elf with gray skin, cloth armor with red accents, and obviously lethal wounds was projected above the page. It spoke one word hatefully. “Blood.”

  
  


After that word, the enchantment seemed to glitch out temporarily, flickering for a moment. When it came back, there was a Red dragon in its place, but one that had seen better days. From his newfound experience, Harry could tell it was a female, and she’d been through hell. Great patches of her flesh were bruised, runes had been carved deep into her flesh and a creeping contagion of blue was overcoming her red scales. The illusion from the book twitched slightly, stuttering as it produced two words, obviously once part of a longer passage. “Life... Preserve...”

  
  


“I’m sorry my Lord. The book isn’t working correctly at all. These two entries should be entirely separate, and the real copy I saw years ago had no shuttering.”

  
  


Harry’s mind, however, was thinking. “Get Dali for me please, I think I have an idea, but I’ll need her thoughts. Quickly, we don’t have a lot of time.”

  
  


Glad to see Harry taking command, Stine ran off to fetch the Red healer. It was only a moment later that she entered the room. Before she could offer a bleary greeting Harry was asking her the question in his mind. “Dali, does the blood of Azeroth’s dragons carry magical properties?”

  
  


Letting out an enormous toothy yawn, the drowsy drake replied. “Yes. Red blood will cause life in general to flourish. The other Flights have different properties. I’m not really sure what they are, you want Aurogos? He’d know more. If this is pressing I’ve had enough sleep to function for half a day or so if you don’t mind me passing out later.”

  
  


A few moments later and the new Headmaster was drinking some very strong tea as they sat around a table and brainstormed. “To help a Nether whelp like Bavaku I think you’d want either Red of Black blood, that gives your thought the best chance of working Harry. The Netherwing were Black dragons at some point, though Bavaku’s at least second generation, maybe third or forth because of their short lives. Red dragons shed magic that encourages life with every touch and breath.”

  
  


Responding to Aurogos, Harry made his decision. “We’ll use Red blood. I doubt any of the ones here would hesitate. Bavaku’s problem as I understand it involves a metaphysical defect or weakness, right? So a physical donation of blood to encourage life should help him. Part of my thought for doing it at the Potter Estate was that the residual magic might recognize him as a member of the family and aid him. When I first used the Loyal Lord ritual, I changed the oath just a little. It just felt right to acknowledge you all as family. Now, what else can we do to increase his odds?”

  
  


Ideas were tossed around for a while, until Dali brought up that she had never done a transfusion before. “With our style of healing such a procedure is not needed. We can force life into a patient and seal the wounds, and at that point if they’re alive they can usually be kept alive until the magic stimulates more blood production. I have no experience and no tools to accomplish it with.”

  
  


Thankfully, Hermione spoke up. “Harry, I think my mother can do it. My parents are dentists, but they thought it was a good idea for at least one person at their dental practice to have emergency nurse training. If we get her on a mirror I can ask.”

  
  


Moving quickly, Harry pulled out his mirror and called his godfather. A man who looked very much not awake, but was soon trying to blink the sleep from his eyes was soon on the other side. After a hurried explanation, Hermione was talking to her mother on the mirror.

  
  


“Hi Mom. I’m going to be visiting you soon, a group of us are coming to where you are. Listen, we need your help. Can you perform a blood transfusion from one person to another?”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


On the other end of a communication mirror, Daniel and Emma Granger were only slightly less concerned when Hermione insisted she was not in need of a transfusion. Seeing her daughter look very perky at about four in the morning, she held up her hand and tried to use her best ‘Mom’ voice. “Hermione. Tell me why you need a barely qualified nurse to do a transfusion in ninety minutes. Why on Earth aren’t you having a real doctor do this or just using one of those ‘Blood Replenishing’ potions your books mentioned?”

  
  


The Dentist resisted the urge to snap at the male voice that let out a barking laugh after she said the word ‘Earth’ as she waited for her daughter to explain herself. As her daughter collected herself for what was sure to be a very in-depth explanation, a teenage boy stuck his head into the mirror.

  
  


“Sorry to interrupt, but I know Hermione well enough to know we don’t have time for a full explanation. Long story short, we’re taking care of a group of magical creatures our Ministry would maim, experiment on, and/or kill in awful ways if they found out. They’re fully intelligent, thinking creatures that bear an unfortunate resemblance to other magical creatures that are simple beasts as far as we know.

  
  


“One of their children is dying, and we’ve been working on the best way possible to help him, that includes a transfusion and a lot of magic worked at dawn at the base of that tree with the red leaves where you are. Even with this, we don’t know the little guy's odds of surviving only that without aid he’s going to die. One of the other creatures has magical blood that might help him if we can get enough into him. Please, we don’t have anyone else that can do this. Magical healing has been reliant on the Blood Replenishing potion for too long to have any way to help us, and that potion is both toxic and ineffective for this species.”

  
  


With just a little less sleep in her eyes, Emma recognized the teenager from the previous evening. In a sad tone, she gave him unfortunate news. “I’m sorry, I don’t have the equipment I need. We don’t have a transfusion kit at our practice either, I can’t think of anywhere we could buy one at this time of day either. If we do this later...”

  
  


Interrupting her, Harry spoke again. “No. We need this ready by the time the sun rises, there’s a magical component to it. If we delay we lose him. Aurogos, get us a portal to Potter Estate. Everyone else, wake up Senastrasz and Valistraza _carefully._ Send Sen up to get Alira, we think she’s in some kind of restful trance but we can’t wake her, so he’ll have to carry her. Or better yet, we can stick her in a trunk. Mrs. Granger, I’m coming with one of my drakes that’s skilled with transportation magic and a guard with you to wherever you tell us has what we need. Remember, we need to take blood from one creature and stick it directly into another. Let’s move.”

  
  


With that, the mirror deactivated, leaving only their reflections. Looking at their ‘host,’ for a given definition of the term anyway, Emma started to speak when he beat her to it. “Kreacher! We need some strong tea and breakfast, tea first. Dan, Emma, I’ll leave you to get ready. Please move quickly. Hermione should be coming soon.”

  
  


With that, the deranged (Though, after hearing his tale, she felt he was understandably so.) man turned to leave their wizarding tent. Both dentists had to admit it was certainly a very nice tent, given that in medical school their entire apartment had been smaller. Before he left, Dan had grabbed the man’s arm to hold him up a moment. “Sirius, what is going on here? I understood when you told us that we might be in danger because of the Headmaster going insane, even if I don’t completely believe you. But now my daughter is up to her armpits in something else? Tell me what the hell is going on!”

  
  


“Uh, a few days ago, Harry and Hermione welcomed some refugees into Hogwarts castle. Together the two of them cleaned an infected throat wound, many more minor ones, and kept the survivors of unimaginably dark magic from killing themselves in shame for actions they couldn’t control. I’ve talked to them myself, they really seem like decent people. I wasn’t lying about the Headmaster, even though some foreign papers are already saying that the whole thing was just some misunderstanding. Which is complete bullshit!”

  
  


“Oh, really? If that’s true why on Earth did refugees come to school children for help? Why not anyone better suited for it? And why the fuck are you laughing?”

  
  


Normally Emma would gently chide her husband in private for his language but in this case she was just as annoyed as he was. The escaped prisoner’s next words shut them both up. “Sorry, but did you know there was life on other worlds? Before Saturday morning I didn’t. Long story short, opening a portal between worlds is possible if you have an incredibly large amount of magical power. The first group of four dragons, plus a stasis device which is where this little one must have been, were sent here by a ‘being of power’ after their leader bartered their safe passage for an eternity of service.

  
  


“The ‘goddess’ sent them specifically to Harry, and he woke in the night, grabbed the girl he relies on more than anyone else and snuck into a ritual room of the strongest magical fortress in this hemisphere, sitting on top of the most powerful magical nexus in the world. When he got there, he drained the castle’s wards just to receive the incoming portal. Since then, he’s made me proud with how honorably he’s treated them. They all gave him their trust out of desperate necessity, and from what I can tell they’re doing well.”

  
  


That proved to be a lot for two dentists to take in, sadly the quiet contemplative mood didn’t last long. A mostly human head with extremely long ears poked into the tent, and spoke in an accent that honestly reminded both dentists of their daughter’s after spending so much time in Hogwarts. “Are you folks nearly ready to go? We have just over ninety minutes to dawn. Mrs. Granger, we’re going to do this the easiest way we can. You tell us where to go, Aurogos opens a portal that leads into the air, you, me, and him ride in a shrunken box while Harry gets us into an alley on his broom under an invisibility cloak. We won’t even violate the Statute of Secrecy if we get in and out before getting noticed.”

  
  


“Wait, I said there’s nowhere we can buy this right now, at least not open to the public.”

  
  


“Doesn’t matter. I have this.” From a pocket, the apparent elf withdrew a golden knife with barbs on it. “Getting what we need is critical, the plan is to demand what we need, steal it only if they don’t cooperate. This knife really is gold, and I’m going to sink it into wood so they can’t say we didn’t pay for what we need. Unless this goes very badly they won’t even know you were there. Now throw some clothes on quickly, Hermione is outside with the others.”

  
  


From within a second tent, a young woman with pink hair looked outside blearily. Understanding that something horribly illegal was about to happen, she groaned and returned to bed after setting an alarm to wake her in an hour. It was too goddamn early for insurrection, sedition, or treason or _whatever_ her distant cousin was planning right now. Nymphadora Tonks would either prevent Harry Potter from overthrowing the Ministry or join him after a little more sleep and some coffee.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Thirty minutes later, Emma Granger stumbled out of an expanded trunk, helped out by Harry. “Well, that didn’t go too badly.”

  
  


Rounding on the teen, Emma almost shouted at him. “Didn’t go too badly? And what, pray tell, would it take for you to think that had gone badly?”

Scratching his head as they hurried over to the magical tree that had easily doubled in size since it had been used to craft wands, the teen answered. “Well a pitched battle with the Ministry of Magic, or the mundane army. Maybe some ancient horror attacking us. A horde of Dementors, or a thousand-year old Basilisk. Lord Voldemort forcing me to duel him while dozens of his flunkies watched. Now that I’ve heard some of what has happened on Azeroth, I have to add an invasion by demonic legions or an attack by evil gods to my list. We’d probably be dead with the last two, but at least it would be something new.”

  
  


Emma looked at the teen like he was crazy. “What? We got in and out, and only caused a minor injury. That guard guy was way too taser-happy anyway, he’s lucky Senastrasz is a nice guy.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


In the darkness before dawn a few moments later, two healers, one Broodmother and her new apprentice, a dentist with medical training and Harry Potter were carefully working over a weak little whelp. After the healers agreed Bavaku’s blood likely wouldn’t permanently harm him if removed later, two plastic tubes stretched between the two, Senastrasz calling up healing magic and just holding it, hoping to imbue it into his blood. Harry was carefully stroking the whelp’s neck as he laid there on the ground, trying to keep him calm through the pain of the blood-not-his seeping through every vein.

  
  


_Ƥ: “Broodmother, the flames you’re breathing in five minutes, would they burn me?”_

  
  


_Đ: “Yes. They’re close, but not quite the life-fire we use to heal. You’ll need to step back or be badly burned, and since the flames are magical they might not heal well.”_

  
  


_Ƥ: “If heat is the problem, I know a charm to protect myself from flames. It is a handy piece of magic.”_

  
  


_Đ: “You should be fine then, just stay out of the way of the direct plume of fire I’m breathing on Bavaku. I don’t want the magic to be changed by what’s protecting you.”_

  
  


From there, the last five minutes dawn passed slowly. Harry, feeling it was the right thing to do, cast the protective charm on himself and gently touched Bavaku’s neck with his right hand. Over the last few days, Harry had begun truly learning magic, the art of imposing his will on the physical world. Here, he focused his magic, which came easily to him with the emotions intertwined with the thought of losing his sworn, a member of his house, a member of his _family._ This magic he fed slowly, and then faster and faster into the whelp was shaped with a simple command: Heal him, strengthen him where he’s weak and _keep him alive._

  
  


Harry sunk deeply into his simple task. Nether dragons weren’t very well understood, but one trait they were known for was the ability to absorb magic. Most times, that would be either magic thrown against them in the form of spells, or magic stolen from other sources, consumed ‘raw,’ unshaped. Here, the whelp in question was drinking down magic whose entire purpose was to preserve his life.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


One minute before dawn, Emma Granger swiftly removed the needles attached to plastic tubes from the obviously weak baby dragon. She left a small piece of cotton over each hole in his flesh and backed away to where everyone save Harry and the adult dragon watched from a safe distance.

  
  


Emma wasn’t really sure what to think of Harry Potter. Her daughter’s letters had been mostly positive, with a few complaints of their third friend’s study habits rubbing off on him. That he worked so hard to save someone he just met spoke well of him in any case. Turning to look at her daughter, she saw Hermione watching intently, biting her lip in nervousness. Then the first rays of dawn came over the horizon and the adult dragon began breathing a torrent of flames onto the whelp.

As the minutes dragged on with nothing happening, Sirius broke the quiet. “Merlin! Can you feel that? All the hairs on my neck are standing up!” She looked at Hermione and was shocked to see her daughter shaking slightly. Ted and Andromeda Tonks stood further back, sweating and unsteady, though it seemed Ted was doing better of the two of them.

  
  


“Sirius, how is Harry channeling so much magic? Hell! This is almost as much magic in the air as standing on Azeroth last night!”

  
  


It was news to the Grangers that their daughter had visited another world, but not as concerning as what happened in the moment that followed. As the minutes of nothing new happening dragged on, Sirius Black fell to his knees sweating, and Hermione swayed, trembling.

  
  


Both parents found themselves cursing the magical world as whatever was happening was beyond them. The Green dragon, which had only awoken a short time ago stepped up next to Hermione and used a wing and forelimb to gently ease her to a sitting position against her. Alira’s attention never wavered from what was taking place under the tree. Whatever was happening, Sirius soon passed out completely and Hermione’s eyes drooped.

  
  


Apparently requiring focus to speak clearly, enunciating every word carefully as if she was drunk, Hermione tried to calm their fears. “I’ll be alright mom and dad. It’s just magical intoxication, more latent magic in the air than I’m used to, even if I pass out I’ll be alright later.”

  
  


From inside the flames, all those conscious heard a very strained command to keep them up as long as possible. Dan would later tell his wife that he saw the adult dragon breathing in through her nose, then varying the speed of the flames. From her mouth they stuttered as she took in tiny breaths, but because some of the fire was projected faster than the rest, a continuous stream was maintained.

  
  


It took ten minutes for the flames to finally sputter out completely. The very large, very Red creature took heaving breaths as she recovered. The observers felt their spirits plummet as what had been described as the most likely scenario played out. It hadn’t been enough, no one else made a sound as a tiny, weak voice spoke. Emma and Dan turned to their daughter as she began to sob, burying her head into green scales. When they tried to say something, the drake shushed them.

  
  


“He doesn’t have long now and he knows it. He’s thanking Harry and Valistraza for caring about him, for wanting him, for welcoming him into a family.”

  
  


Just as the Grangers realized they were watching a child die, everything seemed to go sideways. They could see Harry Potter’s face, and he was crying freely. When the whelp finished his goodbye, resolve erupted onto his face, and he opened eyes that glowed like emerald suns. In a voice that shook them down to their bones the teen spoke one word. “ _**NO.** _"

  
  


Now the two, even though they had not a drop of magic within themselves, still felt goosebumps spring up over every inch of flesh and every hair stand straight up. Everyone else save the adult dragon fell to the earth unconscious. Even Valistraza was unsteady.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Valistraza was impressed by the amount of magic the teen was now channeling into the whelp. She was tempted to force Harry to stop before he killed himself, but knew he would turn on her before letting her stop him. Even a dragon hesitated to have that much raw, untrained power thrown against them.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Harry refused to give in. As he poured more and more magic into Bavaku, he could almost feel that tiny, physical-yet-not tear that was killing him seal up, but it was healing too slowly. He felt the latent magic of his family’s land standing at his side again, like it had when he cast the Fidelius. But it _still_ wasn’t enough! Bavaku was dying! It wasn’t enough. Harry could remember that feeling of directing the destination rune circle to grab more magic, and of commanding it to pull directly from the ley-lines. He grit his teeth, snarled in his refusal to accept defeat with a life on the line, and with a firm grip on the magic that was already aiding him, reached down into the earth, to the five-point ley-line intersection his family had built on top of centuries ago, and _**pulled.**_

  
  


He could feel the tear start to close faster, but Bavaku’s life fading even faster than that, so he reached again and pulled _**harder** _ **.**

  
  


_Ƥ:_ “ _**Vali, get ready to breathe again! I can feel the tear closing, it’s almost healed. Bavaku, fight just a little longer, that’s an order!”** _

  
  


(At the time, Harry neither noticed nor would he have cared that his actions were setting off a 5.2 magnitude earthquake throughout Britain. In the American Southwest, a 5.2 is ‘enough to feel’ and knock things over if they’re near the edge of whatever they’re sitting on. Maybe you’ll have a picture fall off the wall if you hung it poorly. In Britain, thanks to infrequency of noticeable earthquakes, a 5.2 was actually enough to rattle: shelves, older foundations, brickwork, and even people. For those on that island, Harry Potter set off ‘the big one’ without even trying to.

By using the helpful magic saturating his family’s ancestral home as a glove, Harry was able to (reasonably) safely draw power from the ley-lines that flowed under the ground like a network of rivers. Recklessly pulling as much as he could, he was forcing vast, vast amounts of energy into attempting to correct the fatal defect, draining a part of the ley-line’s network faster than more magic could be filtered in. Luckily, the abundance of power flowing through the Azeroth portal would soon restore what was taken out.)

  
  


Harry was solely focused on his task, on that desperate struggle not to fail, and he almost had it. He felt Bavaku’s body failing and made a split second decision, power that would have killed him a week ago pouring through him.

  
  


_Ƥ:_ “ _**Dali! Life-fire now. Vali! Your fire on top of it!** _ _**NOW** _ _**!”** _

  
  


It was close, so very close. Thankfully Dalistraza shook off the effects that had brought her to the ground at his call and breathed out nourishing flames. The life-fire did what it needed to and kept the little guy alive just a touch longer. Harry used one last, mighty pull to force even more power into the whelp and finally sealed that tear in his flesh and magic that had been killing him. With that the fires from Valistraza that were calling to Bavaku’s flesh, telling him it was time to change, caught hold.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Valistraza smiled around the flames she was pouring out. She could see the whelp was no more. In his place, a silhouette of a new Netherwing drake laid. Still, she kept up the fires as long as she could, refusing to let up any sooner than that. Harry Potter had impressed her today.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Harry felt the flames gradually taper off. He had continually poured magic into the new drake, and now he could see his new form clearly. He smiled as crimson sides took in air greedily. Slowly, he began to taper off the amount of magic he was pouring into Bavaku. Exhaustion was setting in for him now, and he had one last idea before he took a nap. “Dobby! We need some food!, I don’t care where it comes from, but Bavaku needs a deer or elk, the whole thing, raw and freshly killed.” With that, he slipped into the sleep of the victorious.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


As Harry slid onto the grass, Dalistraza swiftly stepped up and hesitated for just a brief moment over who to check out first. Thankfully Vali gestured her to Harry and she got to work. _Đ: “He seems fine, just exhausted. Bavaku?”_

  
  


Crouching alongside the new drake, Valistraza gently probed him with her magic. After a moment, she gestured him to the elk that had been brought in from who knows where by a small elf. _Đ: “Also exhausted and doing well. Bavaku, you need to eat now, keep at it until you can’t eat any more, then just rest. You’ve had a hard time but your Lord has pulled you through. Dali, lean Harry against the tree and then help me start checking the mortals. They’re probably fine but we should make sure.”_

  
  


Dali carefully dragged Harry until he was leaning against the tree. As she paid attention to the tree itself, she realized that it must have soaked up loose magic while they worked. It had grown from sixteen feet high to forty.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Alira beat Hermione to consciousness, a benefit of living most of her life on a world where the Well of Eternity existed. Hermione was quickly checked over, and she smiled at the girl’s parents, forgetting after dealing with Harry how most mortals responded to so many teeth. With a sigh, she simply took her Night Elven form as she moved over to Sirius and Nymphadora Tonks, who hadn’t had much to say earlier, seeming to be rather shell-shocked with all the surprises.

  
  


Speaking to the parents of her new ‘sister’ as she worked, Alira explained. “Your daughter will be fine, expect her to wake up shortly. I’ll arrange headache relief potions soon, they’ll be needed. I’m sure you want to know what just happened.”

  
  


As the Red dragon and drake walked over, melting into a Night Elf and human respectively, Alira gestured Dali towards Sirius, taking ‘Dora’ Tonks herself. Valistraza nodded and moved off to check on Ted and Andromeda. “We just call it ‘magical intoxication.’ It happens when magical creatures are exposed to a saturation of magical energy far enough beyond what they’re accustomed to. I don’t know how Harry did that, but he must have been pulling from this world’s ley-lines to accomplish it. Dali, we need to have Aurogos explain, _at length_ , how incredibly stupid an action that would be on Azeroth.”

  
  


Daniel Granger, eager to get a hold on new information and relieved to know his daughter would be all right, asked the obvious question to follow up that sentence. “Why is that?”

  
  


His question was actually answered by his daughter, after her eyes fluttered open with a groan. “It’s like the difference in voltage between the current inside a car battery and an electric distribution line. Ugh. This isn’t the worst I’ve felt, but I still don’t feel great. Was that worse than stepping onto Azeroth?”

  
  


Listening intently, both parents watched the apparently friendly interaction between their daughter and a dragon pretending to be an elf, (Or was it an elf pretending to be a dragon? They weren’t completely sure at this point.) even as she walked over to them with hands glowing in what was apparently a diagnostic spell. “I’d say it was worse. That laid me out too. Okay, I think we can say everyone’s all right now. We can ask the Headmaster to send over some food and headache potions. I wonder how far away people felt that?”

  
  


Alira dismissed herself then, leaving the dentists and their daughter to work on Senastrasz. Between Alira and Dali, the two had him back to one hundred percent within half an hour. While the transfusion had been critical in saving the whelp, the foreign blood wasn’t doing him any favors. Dali was more than skilled enough to stimulate blood production while Alira removed what didn’t belong. All three were thankful for Hermione rinsing them off with hot water and drying them after, however.

  
  


Slowly, more of the group began to come awake, complaining loudly of headaches. Sirius was the next to open his eyes, followed quickly by Andromeda and Ted Tonks. All eyes turned to Sirius as he started to curse and dig through pockets, some of which were obviously magicked to be larger than they appeared. In short order however, there was a young man with blue hair in the mirror.

  
  


“What’s going on? Whatever that was shook the wards here in Scotland!”

  
  


During the brief discussion that followed, Andromeda sat with her daughter. The young woman was shaken by the events of the last few days to be sure, but some time spent with her family today should help. Sadly Andromeda could see the after-effects of loyalty and trust potions at work in her daughter. Sure, the potions could instill instant die-hard loyalty, or a passable imitation, but the intelligent brewer started with a small dose and gradually increased it to mimic natural emotions. When used like that, the victim never had a chance to realize what they felt wasn’t genuine. What Dora was going through right then was the difficult task of rejecting long-established mental patterns.

  
  


“Dora, come with us to Hogwarts. You’ll need help to deal with what’s been done to you, and it will be a much easier process if you have someone you can trust. Besides, I bet _you_ never found the Chamber of Secrets when you were in school. Just… watch your fingers around the little dragons.”

  
  


There was some astonishment on the young woman’s face and hair color at that, even more when her mother explained that the Basilisk was still being processed, but getting smaller every day.

  
  


Thankfully headache potions arrived shortly. Slowly, the day gained a celebratory atmosphere as those still in the Chamber came through portals cast by Aurogos, laden with the bounty of the Hogwarts kitchens. (Aurogos decided to have more ‘special’ events, as the Castle’s elves clearly enjoyed putting together a ‘Little draggy lives!’ party.) Various dragons explained it was their tradition for communities to celebrate when whelps grew into drakes. The guest of honor was tired, but growing stronger as the day wore on.

  
  


Bavaku was certainly a striking creature now, the donated blood and vast amounts of magic poured into him having caused a physical change. Where before his skin, which was just a covering of extremely fine scales was a purple color, now he was crimson. Bavaku held the shape of a proper Nether drake, shark-like, with a more pointed snout, a single horn on the back of his head, and a vertical fin in place of the other’s tail clubs. Except for his horn and the webbing of his wings where his coloring was royal purple, he was entirely crimson. Bavaku’s eyes glowed like others of his kind, but his were shining with a bright emerald light.

  
  


Oddly, Bavaku was a half again larger than most of the other drakes now, (While the drakes were mostly the same size and shape there were some differences, mostly in build.) not heavily muscled, but taller and longer with a more slight build. He was a drake built for agility and speed, and with so much magic poured into him at a critical time, he was likely destined to be a powerful wielder of magic as well. But that was a concern for another day.

  
  


Harry woke up around noon, groaning in the after-effects of both channeling so much power through himself and the ache of thoroughly depleting his own power. It was fairly comical for the assembled group watching Alira sling him over her back like a sack of potatoes and carry him to the transfigured picnic table. Harry enjoyed lunch even with an impromptu lecture from Aurogos. After telling Harry he respected his judgment in this case, the Blue drake expounded at length _exactly_ how suicidal directly tapping a ley-line would be on Azeroth. Not only because so much more energy flowed through them, but to quote the Blue drake: “Those ley-lines don’t like to be touched, they tend to snap in a way to kill those who try.”

  
  


Valistraza excused herself after a time and returned to the school, Aurogos poking in and out as he opened portals. Dora, Sirius and the Grangers got to meet all of the original drakes, save Ralion still sleeping inside a large ice cube. Aurogos mentioned he had his Dragonsworn looking over the equations to not just siphon off excess magic from Ralion, but to prevent the problem from happening again. Aurogos was working on that task as well, but was interested to see what three very different minds came up with mostly on their own.

  
  


Eventually Jason Atreides came through to ensure the Fidelius charm was still in place. He and Hermione were soon engrossed in a conversation about the possibilities of the ‘Twilight Buffer’ spell and what could be done with the excess magic. Harry chimed in to ask them not to do anything permanent until he had some input, but he was simply too tired right then to think straight.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


After eating his fill Harry nodded off again, exhaustion taking its toll. Around him others continued to enjoy a pleasant day, made even better by the liberal use of warming charms. Hermione and her parents caught up, as did the Tonks family. In the warm sun Bavaku was getting used to his new shape with help from Senastrasz, while Sirius spoke with Dali and Alira about Harry’s health. (He was much improved, but still had a parasite in him. They were working on that, but had to be careful. Sirius was not as surprised as he expected to be about the mental connection to the Dark Lord.)

  
  


As dusk fell a bonfire was lit, the last part of the traditional celebration. The humans, including a drowsy Harry watched from a distance as the drakes stood together in front of the flames and spoke. Hermione actually filled them in on what was being said, though she had yet to explain the mental link (or leash) to her parents. “In their culture a drake is considered of age to begin charting their own path. They’re offering general encouragement and suggestions for what kind of career he could take. When the fire burns out we’ll head back to the castle.”

  
  


As the fire collapsed to embers a discussion about enchanting muggle items began, eventually the possibility of enchanting a tank came up; Senastrasz chimed in and asked how much gold was needed to buy one. (Their ability to melt galleon coins into bullion was a bit of a game-changer.) As Dora Tonks was overheard commenting on how incredibly illegal enchanting even a car was, much less a weapon of war, Harry turned to her with fire in his eyes. Though weary down to his aching bones, Harry stood a little straighter and sneered at her.

  
  


“Tonks, shut up and think before you decide who to follow! There’s four sides you can take right now. Voldemort is gaining power right now, gathering followers. Albus Dumbledore is insane or a Dark Lord himself, I neither know nor care. The Ministry tried to kill me over the summer, then tried to snap my wand for defending myself. Fudge sent his toady to torture students that say anything he doesn’t agree with, and no one seemed to care. The Ministry is so corrupt and infected with Pureblood ideology that there’s no justice. Look at Sirius! Thrown into Azkaban with Dementors when three drops of Veritaserum would have cleared him instantly.

  
  


“I never expected to have to make my own faction Tonks. But when the government is so corrupt, so useless, when it becomes an enemy of the people it governs… There’s only once choice. I will not start a war with the Ministry of Magic! But they will never leave me alone, they will never let those I’ve sworn to protect live their lives in peace. Any chance of the Ministry being a respectable institution died when Voldemort fell and they decided getting back to business was more important than rooting out the Dark Lord’s supporters and corruption.

  
  


“Never think for a moment Tonks that there isn’t going to be a war. But don’t be so _**stupid** _ to assume it will be the noble Ministry against the evil terrorists. Malfoy and his ilk have so much influence Voldemort could walk in tomorrow and most of those there would just follow orders and keep their heads down!

  
  


“If I have to, I’ll tear down every brick of the Ministry and leave none that serve it alive to protect those I care about. And I refuse to follow the Ministry’s ridiculous laws while I do it. Sirius, Dan, Emma. If you can find ways of making better weapons and armor, do it. Our friends from Azeroth have ideas on how to create magical constructs which might help even the scales. In fact, the only thing I want kept off the table is _truly_ dark magic. And I don’t mean what the _Ministry_ considers ‘dark.’”

  
  


Harry’s speech was heard by all of his drakes, Sirius, the Granger family, all three Tonks, as well as Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny Weasley. With two heavy expenditures of magic within twenty-four hours, Harry didn’t remember how he reached a bed and promptly passed out. While he slept, Valistraza shared what Harry had accomplished that day with her charges, who were eagerly swarming Bavaku.

Nymphadora joined her family in stepping through the portal when they returned to Hogwarts. Both of Hermione’s parents elected to stay at the Potter Estate, now knowing their daughter was the target of a madman, his political movement, and possibly the majority party of the magical government. With this knowledge, and having heard some of Sirius’s tales of modifying a motorcycle with magic, they were eager to create equalizing equipment to balance the scales of war. (Not to mention simply experimenting with enchanting ‘muggle’ objects in general.)

Among the dragons there had been a lively debate as to what they should call their new group. There was a general disappointment that ‘The Chromatic Dragonflight’ was already taken, as it was a rather cool name. Had Harry been awake, he would have tried to argue against their final choice, but while the dragons made their decision, he was still recovering, sound asleep. When he woke the next morning, Harry found himself besieged by requests from the remaining whelps to join his group, now formally named the ‘Potter Dragonflight.’ When he turned to Hermione in dismay, who along with Alira had literally kept his nightmares away by sleeping next to him, his best friend laughed at him.

* * *

A/N: Bavaku won’t be as big a character as some of the drakes ended up being, just another face in the background. To be honest, he wasn’t in any of my notes and just sort of popped up when I was working out how many of the whelps were what kind of dragons. I haven’t decided what his ‘mortal form’ will be, in Warcraft cannon most dragons end up using the shapes of elves or humans.

  
  


If you choose to leave a review, I’d welcome suggestions for Bavaku's. It doesn’t have to be limited to Azeroth/Outland/Draenor either, any upright species with thumbs will do. I’m thinking about making him a Naga/male Lamina thanks to the influence from Harry’s parseltongue magic.

(By the way, my Harry Potter isn’t a parselmouth simply thanks to the horcrux. In this fic, and probably any others I write, at most the scar at most awakened a recessive gene. I’m assuming that at some point most of magical Britain's family lines have crossed with Salazar Slytherin’s or other Parselmouths and the recessive traits are there, just waiting for the chance to become active. Hmm. I wonder if a ritual that activates a magical gift from dormant DNA would be interesting enough to add into the HP fandom? IE: Andromeda Tonks could become a Metamorphmagus, or Draco Malfoy could gain Parseltongue.)

  
  


Potter Dragonflight :

  
  


**Alira** : Green Drake. Before she was drafted, she was training to be a professional mother. Alira already feels safer on Earth than she did on her home world ever since the latest war began. As she has come to know them, she’d become fond of Harry and Hermione. Sometimes she cosplays as a Night Elf. Avidly ships Harry/Hermione/OC.

  
  


**Aurogos** : Blue Drake. Now also Headmaster Aurogon Salonar of Hogwarts almost by accident and proud patron of three new Dragonsworn, Aurogos is a busy drake. He’s been working on something special for Monday. His mortal form is a human with striking blue eyes and hair of different shades.

  
  


**Bavaku** : Nether drake. He’s honestly surprised to be alive, as his honest diagnosis this morning was “We’re doing everything we can, but you’re probably going to die.” Physically and magically he’s going to be rather powerful, but he has a _lot_ to learn. His ‘How to Drake’ studies will include: How to work his new body, including not tripping, bashing others with much larger appendages, etc. He also needs to learn: the ‘mortal form’ transformation, magic in general, and the abilities specific to Nether Dragons, which include fading out of reality and absorbing magic. Right now, the poor guy is stuck at mildly freaking out every time he sees a whelp and realizes he was that small twelve hours ago. (The whelps are the size of his talons now.) He’s also hearing a voice in his head singing “I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alllllliiiiivvvvveeeee!” but isn’t quite worried about it yet.

  
  


**Caliona** : Twilight Drake. She’s really looking forward to learning proper magic, not just what her friends can figure out on their own. Her mortal form is a human with sharp, aristocratic features, black pigmented eyes, and streaks of blue in her hair. Right now she’s increasingly nervous about her role in chapter 17. She’s the best candidate for the job, and will do her duty to Harry, but will probably need a cup of chamomile tea (with something a bit stronger mixed in) and a soothing soak in hot water to relax afterwards.

  
  


**Dalistraza** : Red Drake. Currently attending Hogwarts as Dali Lothar. Every adventuring group needs a healer, and she’s happy to fill the role. While generally a kind person, her healing training didn’t include ‘bedside manner.’ If she tells you to rest, you _will_ rest. After time spent with Andromeda Tonks, she longer requires your cooperation in your own recovery. If she wants you to have bed rest, you’re not escaping unless you’re a professional curse-breaker thanks to tips from Andromeda and some simple charms that are easily layered. Her second form is a human with striking red hair and motherly features. She’s starting to understand just how much effort it is going to take to keep Harry Potter in one piece.

  
  


**Ralion** : Twilight Drake. At Hogwarts, his alias is Ral Elsington. He would normally be a great leader, but he’s been off his game recently, adapting to getting the evil gods out of his mind. He’s glad they’re gone, but it still takes some getting used to. His human form has black hair, a short beard, and purple eyes. Today he’s still an ice cube, but he’s going to move from ‘popsicle’ to ‘recovering nicely’ before the next chapter.

  
  


**Senastrasz** : Red Drake. Goes by Senas Lothar sometimes. Come Monday, you can call him Professor Senastrasz, master of the Hogwarts forge. He’s fairly skilled around a forge, learning what he could ever since he saw his flight’s Dragonspawn breathing flame onto weapons before continuing to beat the steel into the proper shape. His second form is a High Elf with red eyes.

  
  


**Stine** : Bronze Drake. When he joined Harry Potter, he officially retired from life as a Time Cop on Azeroth, but it was a mostly thankless job anyway. (Long hours and job hazards aplenty.) Many Bronze Dragons know their fates ahead of time, Stine saw his and didn’t like it at all. When given the chance, he chose a different path whose end he couldn’t see. His alternate form is a feline centaur called a Tol’vir. His Leatherworking hobby has kept him busy recently, there’s a lot of magical snake to process. He isn’t overly concerned about what’s coming next chapter, but he should be.

  
  


**Talion** : Black Drake. Most certainly a follower, he was thankful for Tendrion bringing him into the group. He was actually the oldest of his group before coming to Earth, but had an especially crappy childhood. Right now he’s trying to figure out the theory for raising an island with his volcano powers. “It’s just sinking an island in reverse, right?” has not instilled confidence that he has any idea what he’s doing. His human form bears a heavily muscled warrior’s build, with black hair and burnt orange eyes. He isn’t super plot relevant yet, but he’s been working hard in the background. Should he ever get sorted, expect him to be a Hufflepuff for sure.

  
  


**Valistraza** : Red Dragon Broodmother. Boy, has she had a rough few months. In brief, during the Nexus War, when the Blue Dragonflight was commanded by Malygos to wage war against, well, everyone else, she met a nice Blue dragon named Tarengos who thought the war was stupid and surrendered himself to a Red Dragonflight settlement far from the front lines. Honestly, Tarengos would have tried to convince others to turn against Malygos, but he was right on the very edge of being strong enough to ignore orders from his Aspect and was rather worried if he got any closer, he’d join the war regardless of lack of desire to. Anyway, Valistraza and Tarengos got to know each other, fell for each other, and procreated in spite of the Titan’s Law that says they can’t do that.

  
  


Vali decided she didn’t want to live on this planet anymore to protect her kids and mate, so they started planning to leave. Tarengos didn’t make it back from trying to get the last bit of information and supplies they needed to leave Azeroth. In something of a panic, she decided to try for Outland instead, hoping she could find a Draenei settlement (they seem like good people from what she knows) and barter her healing skills for food and secrecy/protection. It wasn’t a great idea, Outland is not a very safe place for a single mother, but it was the best idea she had.

  
  


Instead, she was captured by a group of Twilight drakes (and Talion) and was offered a place in their escape from Azeroth if she agreed to serve as their Broodmother. Tendrion made an impact on her, so she agreed as long as the group didn’t kill ‘good guys’ on the way. When they found a rogue mage experimenting on whelps, she was happy to help burn him alive, the disgust and rage of the drakes at the human hurting young dragons enough to convince her that her eggs would be safe among them. Accepting a place in the sphere to let the drakes move more swiftly was the least she could do, but now she finds herself missing Tendrion as well.

  
  


As far as she can tell, Harry Potter is rather young, a fairly powerful user of magic, and has a good heart. Is he what she hoped for when she joined the rebellion to flee Azeroth? No, but he’ll do. Unless Harry really, really screws up he’ll be her Lord sooner than later.

Vali’s mortal form is a tall Night elf with pale, pink skin, dark purple hair and facial tattoos that look like scaled wings framing her face. While a pleasant form to look at, any Night Elf that got a good look at her would wonder what kind of dragon she was, not if she was an elf or not.

 **Vespiona** : Twilight Drake. Sister to Ralion, she was very close to Tendrion before they parted ways. She’s in mourning for a loved one she will never see again. Her mortal form is a Draenei with blue skin and purple eyes. Right now, she’s just keeping busy, and to be fair there is a lot to do. She is very much considering asking Valistraza to take her as an apprentice to learn all the many ins and outs of raising young ones. (Valistraza is considering drafting her for the same. Seventy-seven is a lot of kids to keep track of.)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	17. Chapter 17: Back to Normal, Sort of

I own neither franchise. Many thanks to hkurtz2013 on Fanfiction . Net for helping to edit this nearly 15k word chapter! 

While off-screen, Hedwig has leveled up!

Reviews motivate me to keep writing and editing, (So much editing… I’ve been trying to spruce up the early chapters.) I appreciate each one!

* * *

Chapter 17: Back to Normal, sort of

  
  


Monday, October 16th 1995 saw something of a return to normalcy for Hogwarts Castle. Most of the Professors had returned to the castle, minds scrubbed clean of both potion-based effects and purely magical ones. (Each of them had endured a thoroughly unpleasant series of purging potions and cleansing rituals. This had not endeared Albus Dumbledore to them  _ at all. _ ) 

  
  


With the knowledge that Dumbledore had tinkered with their minds the staff voiced few, if any, complaints about the change in leadership. Even those that wanted to complain found themselves unable to find real reasons to. There ended up being surprisingly few staffing changes considering all that had been revealed.

  
  


Even if Severus Snape had not escaped Auror custody, it had been decided that because of his petty bullying of students he was no longer welcome at Hogwarts. Andromeda Tonks was slated to take over the teaching of potions, while also serving as an additional healer if the school required it.

  
  


Binns would still be teaching, but now to an empty room. For the time being history turned into a study hall, with the students being supervised in a newly cleaned classroom.

  
  


Poppy Pomfrey was not present at the Castle yet. The former Headmaster’s compulsions forced on her were by necessity more stringent than most of the rest of the staff. The Healer’s oath Poppy had taken and tried to hold herself to had given Dumbledore more problems than any other member of the school’s staff. For the time being, Pomfrey’s position was being covered by a Master Healer on loan from St. Mungo’s along with his two apprentices.

  
  


Since no one had seen Delores Umbridge in several days, (And because of the way she treated others, those assigned to look for her were not exactly searching under every rock. In fact, the task force the Minister of Magic sent out to find her had found a number of delightful ways to waste time in the muggle world. Despite their best efforts, they had yet to locate Dolores Umbridge at any number of bars, cinemas, or amusement parks.) one of the decreasing host of Ministry Aurors stationed at Hogwarts was taking over the class until she returned, with Nymphadora Tonks as an understudy.

  
  


Miss Tonks, after a few days of heavy thought, had requested an extended leave from Madam Bones, citing the need to get her head straightened out. Understanding the need for her Auror to spend some time with family, not to mention a mind-healer, Madam Bones had worked out a deal with Nymphadora where she would act as a guard and teaching assistant at the school even after the rest of the Aurors left. All three members of the Tonks clan had moved into the Professor’s Wing of the castle for the time being. It was worth the effort of relocating to escape the swarm of very small, very curious dragons.

  
  


As breakfast was served that morning, ‘Senas Lothar’ sat at the head table between Professors Grubbly-Plank and Flitwick. Last night, the new headmaster had announced that Senas would be teaching metalworking during the day and pursuing independent study in his spare time. As there was no one better to teach magical metalworking, Senas had received applause as he moved from the Gryffindor table to the staff one that night.

  
  


Ralion had been de-iced Saturday afternoon and the excess magical energy within him had been quickly channeled into Valistraza. As the students had begun eating their breakfast, he had walked into the hall to a rousing cheer from first the Hufflepuff table and then the others when Harry had loudly thanked him for weakening the Fiendfyre so he could finish snuffing it out. At the reminder that this individual played a pivotal role in everyone present not dying in an explosion of cursed flames, even the Slytherin table joined in giving sincere applause.

  
  


‘ Ral Elsington’ earned points with the students for simply telling the school he was happy everyone came through that day alive and mostly unhurt. (At that there were a few glares at Professor Flitwick, some students with poor dodging skills were still nursing sore spots from the forks he’d turned on them.)

  
  


The only new class starting this semester was Magical Smithing, which was scheduled for the introductory class on Wednesday. Comportment, Beast Magic, and Magical Culture were all slated to be introduced in the next semester. Narcissa Malfoy was expected to be one of the co-professors of Comportment and Magical Culture. Headmaster ‘Salonar’ had gained points in the media when he announced that those classes would be taught  jointly  by one individual from each end of the political spectrum. Privately, he had announced to the Potter Dragonflight and friends much of the intention of the Culture class was to expose the follies of both the Pureblood movement and the Ministry of Magic.

  
  


In the Chamber of Secrets, the Blue drake had lamented not being able to hold up a figure from Azeroth as an example for _why_ the Pureblood ideology was flawed. “Probably the most naturally powerful user of magic born in the last ten-thousand years is what the fools here would call a muggle-born. Lady Jaina Proudmoore can wield more magic than a hundred Albus Dumbledores, but _does_ lacks his razor-fine control. Then again, overwhelming force does have upsides, for example using an enormous blast of fire to protect her city from a massive tidal wave during the Cataclysm.”

  
  


Aurogos had spent a good deal of time on the enchanted mirror gifted to him by his Lord over the weekend. He had spent twenty years as an apprentice to Senegos, and afterwards chose to remain in the community the old wyrm had founded. Now, Senegos had offered the ‘Potter Dragonflight’ a deal: Allow him to verify their claims that the corrupted drakes had been freed, and he would give them tomes and materials from his private collection. Also, he wanted to meet with Harry Potter face to face.

  
  


There were some concerns, though a betrayal from the old  Blue seemed unlikely. Harry had agreed to the meeting after Aurogos explained that the most likely scenario was that his old master wanted to get the measure of the Lord he had chosen to serve in addition to sending them those corrupted dragons he could. As a precaution, Harry had spent most of Sunday learning Apparition.

  
  


In this case learning the similar but both longer range and smoother (At the cost of a much greater cost of magic to cast.) Teleport spell from Azeroth would actually be less useful; in case of danger, most methods of preventing magical travel were specific to a certain type of spell. (Even on Earth, there were distinct, different spells that needed to be cast to block Apparition and portkey use.)

  
  


So after the final class today Harry was heading for Azeroth again. This time, he would be accompanied by both Stine and Caliona. Ralion had wanted to accompany his Lord but was still recovering from almost dying. When he finished healing, he would be stronger than he was before, a combination of the excess magic running through his system and the method in which he was kept alive had indeed strengthened him, at the cost of what little hard-fought control he’d gained over his magic. (Essentially, instead of simply draining off the excess magical energy, which they could do _**now**_ , the Red’s healing magic had simply kept his body alive, _forcing_ him to adapt to the extra power.)

  
  


Thankfully, it would be a short journey. One of Senegos’s followers would be dispatched and meet them on the road leading into the Stranglethorn Jungle, a few dozen miles from the cave containing the cross-world Earth Portal, and bring them the rest of the way with the portal spell commonly used by Azeroth’s magic users. For safety’s sake, and to prevent ‘unpleasantness’ Caliona would be under a disguise until they reached ‘Azurewing Repose.’

  
  


Harry had spent nearly an hour practicing variations of a glamour spell on her to prevent any of the various militaries or ‘adventurers’ from seeing a member of the group currently attempting to destroy the world. All the female dragons had ended up gathered around, offering their comments on the illusions. Caliona’s favorite variation had been one Harry experimented with after getting a passable illusion of a Green drake. While deep midnight blue and black, with shifting stars visible on the undersides of her wings had looked fantastic, it wasn’t useful for the coming expedition.

  
  


In any case, the school had been served breakfast early today, as the new Headmaster wished to give a short lesson. Breakfast itself was rather good, and it didn’t seem like anyone noticed the school’s sudden abundance of eggs, fish, and various vegetables in meals, or the decrease in red meat. Everyone was eating quickly, every student in the hall eager to see what the new headmaster had in store. Even Harry’s group was decidedly curious, as the Headmaster had wanted to make it a surprise.

  
  


One hour before the first class of the day was to begin ‘Aurogon Salonar,’ the Headmaster of Hogwarts clapped his hands together, seeing that nearly everyone was finished eating. At that, first the food disappeared, then the tables, and then the benches re-oriented themselves and shifted to face the front of the hall. Clearing his throat, the drake  in human form began to speak.

  
  


“ I’m glad to see all of you here so early. I am considering making this a weekly event where I’ll teach something myself. Today, we’re starting with a subject and approach that should be entirely new to you. One truth about those of us that wield magic as our birthright is that we are rarely good at exactly the same kinds of spells as other users of magic. What this means, and your professors would agree with me on this point, is that sometimes a student will be better at potions, or charms, or transfiguration.

  
  


“ We’re going to look at this a different way today. I have here on my table six spells copied to sheets of paper. Each one is a different elemental spell. I’ve selected spells of Fire, Frost, Earth, Air, and Water. I was also pleased to find a spell new to me in the Headmaster’s library that creates Lightning. What we’re going to do next is a new approach, and I’m honestly curious about the results. I suspect that many of you here have a proclivity towards one type of elemental magic, just as I have towards magic involving ice.

  
  


“ Now, follow my instructions for a few moments and close your eyes. We’re going to try to figure out what element ‘calls’ to each of you. I’m going to ask you each to visualize what I describe and decide what seems to resonate with you the most. Raise your hand when something appeals to you and when we’re done you’ll have a page with a new spell to learn. You can also wait until the end if nothing calls you at first.”

  
  


This caused a lot of interest in the students, they had never been asked to do this. With the possibility of a type of magic that worked best for them, they were all eager to comply.

  
  


“First, imagine a forest. It’s filled with old, decayed, and dying trees that are keeping new ones from growing, choking them out with their roots. Now imagine the woods have caught flame. The old, sickly growth is burning, returning to the soil as ash to nourish the seeds of new growth. Fire is destructive, but it has its place in the cycle of renewal. It _cleanses_ what nothing else will. Keep your eyes closed, but raise your hand if you think that appealed to you and an elf will get you the spell I’ve chosen.”

  
  


Aurogon smiled as some hands went up, some more hesitant than others. To be honest, this lesson he was teaching was thrown together from parts of a dozen lectures he remembered from Senegos. After a moment, he began again. “Now, I want you to picture a frozen plain. Nothing grows here, no grass, no trees. The purest expression of ice and winter exists here in the endless drifts of snow, cold, harsh, unfeeling. There is no succor, no comfort here, only the howling of wind on the ice and the roar of blizzards.”

  
  


A few moments later, Aurogon smiled at seeing the teachers and Aurors stationed nearby joining in. “Next, I want you to imagine a mountainside. Earth exists in crags between the boulders, and trees and grass send roots everywhere the soil is. Earth is a foundation, the base on which life depends. Earth is usually slow to move, but when it does, it flattens all in its path. Imagine that on the hills above, a rock formation has come loose. It hasn’t fallen until today, when there was one small disturbance too many, and now the mountain is shedding its skin in an avalanche of rock and dirt.”

  
  


Unsurprisingly, many in Hufflepuff seemed to feel a connection to earth, as did their Head of House. Moving on, he began again. “Air is something different from the others. It is unsubstantial, a bit of cloud in the breeze. Air goes where it will, above anything else, it is free! It is movement! It heralds a warm summer day or a typhoon that crushes all in its path.

  
  


“ Imagine now a river. Water follows the path of least resistance, going where it is pushed, where it is directed. Water is vital for all life, it renews and nourishes. If not respected however, it is dangerous as well. Picture that same river, swollen by rain, overflowing its banks and sweeping away everything in its path.”

  
  


“ Lastly, we come full circle. Imagine again that forest, burdened with dead and dying trees. Deep within, an enormous dead tree stands tall, defying gravity and the cycle in which it must take part. It remains there, year in, year out, stealing sunlight from new growth and refusing to part with the nutrients the forest needs. Imagine now storm clouds sweeping over the forest, and the distant rumbles of thunder. There’s no rain yet, just the sky itself crackling in agitation. Imagine that dead tree, standing defiant. Nothing happens, until suddenly, everything changes. In an instant, lightning crackles in the air and the tree is struck, broken asunder on the ground. Flames, tiny at first, licking from the place it was humbled. That is the element of lightning, it is an instant of change, the point at which things will be different after.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Harry certainly felt conflicted raising his hand for the last one. But after a moment of thought, he felt increasingly silly for it. So what if his most known feature was a lightning shaped scar? So what if this would bring him more attention? He wasn’t a lonely orphan anymore, he was a leader of people who depended on him. 

  
  


Harry Potter could no longer be someone thrown about by winds created by others. He knew that this would be worth an article in the Prophet tomorrow, but found himself not caring much. He barely heard the Headmaster strongly cautioning the students against using these spells on other living creatures unless their lives were at stake.

  
  


When the benches were cleared away, he found himself with two spells in his hands, an air spell that created a gust that could push, or with enough focus even cut, and a spell that created a bolt of electricity, an imitation lightning bolt. Without more thought, he put the air spell away for now and joined the relatively small group of students gathering near the wall warded to withstand the spell they all wanted to attempt. 

  
  


Reading the instructions  again , which were much more focused on intent than specific wand motions or pronunciation, he waited for Aurogon to finish his instructions, and invite them to begin attempting their spells, one at a time.

  
  


Focusing his will on creating an instant of change, he traced out the wand motion, a gentle curving half-circle before thrusting his wand at a target on the wall and finishing with the incantation. With a sure voice, he called out:  “ _ Mutare!”  _

  
  


While not powerful enough to cause permanent hearing loss or blindness, Harry’s display still captured the attention of everyone present, and it took several moments to regain their normal vision and hearing. Further examination revealed that Harry Potter had punched a head-sized hole into the wall and annihilated a wooden closet on the other side.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Several moments later, Aurogon withdrew his head from the wall, a smile on his face. In a light, amused tone the Headmaster began speaking to the room at large, and to his Lord that was still looking rather shocked at the power he’d put behind what was supposedly a simple spell. “Well Mr. Potter, it seems we have found a school of magic that suits you. Everyone else, please stay far away from this area, I’ll be moving the lightning group into the entrance hall in just a moment. There’s a cursed item buried somewhere in this wall; it’s been draining the wards for years. I’ll be taking care of it after lunch.”

  
  


(In reality, he would be sneaking it down into the chamber for Vespiona and Caliona to dispose of, he wasn’t exactly sure how it had been made, but it carried the sickening feeling of sentient life unwillingly taken. How it had gotten here, he had no idea, but as far as cursed items went, this one was  _ mean.  _ On second thought, he’d take it to the Room of Requirement and bring the drakes to it. No need to have something like this near the whelps.)

  
  


For Harry, he hastily carved out a rune-set for a target that could handle a good deal of power thrown against it. Turning to a rather excited Flitwick and a somewhat more concerned McGonagall, he smiled at them both while idly spinning his wand and covering the hole with a thick sheet of ice. “That was exciting! What do you two think of this session so far?”

  
  


Flitwick smirked at the young man. He had reservations about his apparent youth, but his direct observations of the young man had been very much positive so far. This morning’s lesson was something he could never have seen Albus allowing, but the half-goblin had found himself swept up in the excitement. To be honest, he found himself wanting to walk over and attempt the lightning spell himself, but on Potter’s target just to be safe. “Honestly, I think we should just cancel this morning’s classes. I can’t see us getting any of these students to focus on anything else before lunch.”

  
  


Standing next to them, Minerva sighed. “I agree. If you’re going to make this a weekly event we might as well revise the schedule to plan around it.”

  
  


Smiling, Aurogon acknowledged Minerva with a nod of his head. “I’ll consider it and let you know by the end of the day Professor. It _is_ good to see some positive excitement in the castle. For now, why don’t you two join me in finding students that are struggling and help them out.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


An hour later, most of the students had grasped their first spell and were either attempting a second or were helping students who were having problems. Aurogon was just finishing assisting a first year who was upset her flame-conjuring spell resembled more a candle than the flamethrower the older students had managed. 

  
  


“Don’t worry about it Miss. Your magic is still growing just as you are, and this spell is probably a little too ambitious for you right now. Keep practicing in safe places though, and over time you’ll get stronger. Growing up will help you as well. Practice a little more, but don’t work yourself too hard now, all right?”

  
  


With that, the Headmaster that was thoroughly enjoying his new job looked around the room for others that were struggling and came across Neville Longbottom covered in sweat, but still exerting himself attempting to get the provided mound of dirt to follow the movements of his wand. Wondering what could possibly be the problem, he used his ability to see magic, his eyes glowing as he accessed a gift to his Dragonflight from the Titan Norgannon and was briefly stumped at what he saw. He actually had to think for a moment before he walked over to Neville.

  
  


“ Hello Mr. Longbottom. I have to ask, why are you using a wand that is fighting you? I can see the wand resisting every attempt you make.” The following discussion soon called up high emotions, a lengthy explanation of how wands transferred their loyalty, and brought in several of the other Professors before it was sorted out.

  
  


Sighing at the odd argument, the young Headmaster called for an elf to bring him a case from his ‘private work area.’ With a flourish, he opened the case, revealing dozens of wands, each with a small tag detailing their ingredients. “Mr. Longbottom, I understand your desire to be close to your father, I really do. I would never ask you to throw away his wand, but because it _remains_ his wand, it will never submit to you as a wand should. I will write whoever failed to procure you a properly-fitted wand, because their mistake has likely been holding you back since your first year.”

  
  


As the implications of that statement sank in, he continued. “I recommend you visit Ollivander’s wand shop at your earliest convenience to procure a properly-fitted wand. For now, however, please select one one these. These wands are all from the same wood, Alexstraza’s Boughs. Most of the cores are simple dragon products, however I find my own wand suits me very well. Since I have no idea how to pair a wand with the correct wizard, just give each wand a wave until you find one that feels ‘right’ in your hand. If you don’t find one, just go with the best match.”

  
  


Using his own wand to call a spire of ice from the floor to attach to the case, holding it in place, Headmaster Aurogon Salonar got back to helping students. Overall, he felt good about the morning so far. Glancing around, he saw that his Lord had mastered the lightning spell and moved on the air. Hermione had mastered both her chosen fire and earth spells, and Senas and Dali had both grasped the fire-conjuring spell well enough that they were sending flaming creatures to do battle in the air above the students. 

  
  


Ral had the strange problem of the flame spell manifesting not the expected orange flame, but the dark blue of the Twilight Flame. _That_ made for a powerful, dangerous weapon for sure.

  
  


The Headmaster managed to finish correcting a second year’s spell casting, expounding again on the importance of intent, when Neville found a wand that fit him. A calming tone echoed through the hall, followed by  the  sound of raindrops, and suddenly something began to fall onto everyone present. At first glance it appeared to be drops of rain, but what was falling was healing magic, not water.  _ Hmm. This seems to be the druid’s Tranquility spell. _

  
  


Returning to Neville, Aurogon quickly removed the tag from the wand, curious about the core, discovering it was one of the newer ones crafted the day before. (Since they had all the needed ingredients, it seemed like a good idea to have a large number of spare wands lying around.)  _ Let’s see… Green whelp’s fangs, wrapped in the first shed scales from several of the same, filled in with powdered claw, also from a Green dragon. Between the materials and him successfully casting that spell... You’re a druid, Neville Longbottom, no doubt about that. _

  
  


Aloud, the Headmaster spoke once more. “Well, though I probably lack showmanship compared to where most of your classmates bought their wands, I can still make a cryptic comment about what your new wand is suited for.” There were some groans at that, apparently Ollivander was someone who made an impression.

  
  


“ This is a wand suited for spells that interact with nature, with plant life and the natural world. Also, possibly handy for spells involving sleep, dreams, and the mind. I’ll see about finding some spells for you to work on. Nature Magic, while useful, isn’t as powerful until you become truly skilled at it. Carry on Mr. Longbottom, but do check in with Healer Tonks and Dali at some point; I’d like them to examine you for damage caused by an ill-fitted wand.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


From there, not much of note happened for the rest of the lesson. Harry and some of the other students took it upon themselves to give pointers to those that still struggled with various spells. Neville quickly proved to the hall that his wand had indeed been holding him back, picking up the earth manipulation spell without trouble.

  
  


Lunch found the castle in high spirits.  A pparently reading the mood, the house elves had provided something new, and the students found themselves enjoying hamburgers, fried zucchini and chips (french fries). It was something new to many of the pureblood students, but they generally found themselves enjoying it.

  
  


After the students filtered out of the room, Aurogon produced a shrunken trunk from a pocket and  moved  to the wall containing the cursed item that was disrupting the magic of the castle. Most of the remaining Aurors watched him condense water that quickly frozen into a large pile of ice from moisture in the air, then carefully manipulate it into claws that tore into the wall until a small iron box, seething with darkness was revealed. In fact, that darkness was actually seeping into the ice as the icy talons held it.

  
  


Deciding to be cautious, Aurogon simply dumped the object and all of the ice into the box to be burned. A careful check of the area revealed that there was some residual taint from the item, but when he asked the wards to shift more power there, the residue was quickly burned off. Giving a respectful nod to the Aurors, he apparated to the Room of Requirement and called Vespiona and Caliona up. The two Twilight drakes were happy to get away from the ‘whelp swarm’ for a short time and happily reduced the cursed item to ash.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


There was certainly a great deal of energy in the castle as classes resumed. Eventually classes ended, and Harry and his four chosen drakes were standing in front of the portal to Azeroth. While most of his oathsworn wanted Harry to visit in force, it was Aurogos who reminded them that only a few years ago Senegos had been prepared to kill the Blue Dragonflight’s Aspect. (Though, admittedly at the cost of his own life.) Not to mention that there was a significant number of other dragons living in his settlement, far more than ten drakes could hope to fight and win. 

  
  


If something went wrong, Stine’s abilities and the Apparition lessons the three had gone through ought to be enough to see them back to Earth.

  
  


Not having had many chances to fly lately, Harry was certainly looking forward to putting his Firebolt through its paces on an entirely new world. Senastrasz and Dali would be coming through the portal with them and remaining in Stranglethorn Jungle, planning on doing some hunting after escorting Harry’s group through the cave system. While they had enough meat for the next month, more food under a preservation charm couldn’t hurt. Dalistraza decided to come on a whim, mentioning that she was interested in tasting some of the native animals of the region.

  
  


Giving Hermione a hug, Harry stepped back to let her join the group researching in the Room of Requirement. The researcher’s two projects right now continued to be better methods of transferring excess magic from one individual to another and various familiar magics. All those heading to Azeroth were going to be keeping an eye out for interesting animals to be used as familiars. Bracing himself, Harry led the four drakes through the portal.

  
  


Over the enchanted leather armor, Harry was now wearing a hooded cloak that reached to his ankles and wrists. It was a dark green, almost black leather on the outside after the outer layer of leather had been soaked in blood gladly donated by Talion. Stine’s goal in using freely given blood from a drake with a strong connection to earth had been to harden the material using a method he’d found in the Room of Requirement’s library. After soaking in blood given by Aurogos, with the goal of imbuing the item with magic-strengthening properties, the inside lining had turned a dark teal.

  
  


Stine’s latest work was proof the Bronze drake’s skill was improving, though the materials he was working with certainly didn’t hurt. This cloak was made to be worn either open or closed, and as Harry stepped out of the portal it billowed, revealing a ruby-studded hilt hanging at his side.

  
  


At Harry’s waist in a heavily enchanted sheath hung the Sword Gryffindor. Oddly, the blade itself felt heavier, looked larger than the last time Harry had handled  it . It turned out that it took some time to get used to carrying a sword at one’s side, many normal movements had to be changed slightly in order to not appear as a clumsy fool. Since Harry simply hadn’t had the practice, the current sheathe included an expansion charm: to an observer, Harry was carrying a hilt at his side with no blade attached.

  
  


Aurogos had returned Gryffindor’s blade to Harry after a sleepless night spent researching and enchanting the blade to prevent accidental deaths from the _highly_ potent poison infusing the blade. It felt strange, but apparently carrying a blade would help him to blend in on Azeroth.

  
  


Running his fingers over the hilt, Harry bit back a groan as he remembered the two training sessions he’d had so far to get used to wielding a blade and magic together. While remaining very polite, and with a smile only slightly sadistic, Senas had retrieved a sword and shield from his personal bags, his preferred weapons to fight with in his mortal form, and proceeded to beat his Lord into the ground. 

  
  


The Room of Requirement again proved its worth in giving the two weapons safe to spar with, simply making blunt copies of their blades and shield. Despite the bruises and burns, Harry had to admit he had learned more in those four hours than in some entire years of Hogwarts’ Defense classes.

  
  


Now that everyone was through the portal, Harry paused for a moment and breathed in the air of a different world. While his efforts to sense and control magic with the Blue Dragonflight’s methods were still a work in progress, even stepping foot here once more was nearly overwhelming. Thankfully he did not pass out this time, in fact the worst that occurred was a bit of dizziness that quickly passed. 

  
  


Looking to his concerned group, he nodded to them. “I’m all right. Let’s get going, I haven’t been able to fly in too long. Caliona, we’ll get that glamour on you just before we leave the caves, some of these places look a little narrow for a drake to get through.”

  
  


Twenty minutes later, Harry and the others had walked into the warm sunlight. In fact, the weather could easily be described as ‘steamy.’ The drakes certainly seemed to be enjoying it, so Harry just shrugged and cast a cooling charm on himself. The Firebolt gifted to him by his godfather had needed a few tweaks to perform in a high-magic environment but should now be even faster on this world. 

  
  


It turned out riding on a broomstick wouldn’t even be out of place, as Azeroth was nearing the harvest season and the celebration included low-quality flying brooms that many made use of before the magic animating them failed.

  
  


It was truly a glorious feeling, the warm air rushing past. The local time was about ten in the morning and the air was fresh and clean with the unfamiliar scents of a jungle. Seeing the drakes swooping and diving in the simple joy of being in the air made Harry smile. Taking a quick look at a borrowed compass, he moved his course a little to the North. 

  
  


Harry knew they would arrive ahead of the agreed time, so he took a moment to join the cavorting drakes, buzzing them on his faster but less nimble broom. Flying like this reminded him that it wasn’t the sport of Quidditch he loved so much as simply being in the air and flying, alone or with others.

  
  


Half an hour later they came across the main road that led South through ‘Stranglethorn Vale’ and north to ‘Duskwood.’ Harry Potter really had no desire to visit a cursed forest today, especially one infested with giant spiders, significant numbers of undead, and werewolves. (Although the local variety were called ‘Worgen’ and could be cured with a powerful potion. Harry had added to his ‘to-do’ list to acquire a sample of that and have someone smarter than him see if it would do any good for Remus.)

  
  


Following the road North, the drakes picked up speed and Harry let his broom speed up as well. As soon as they arrived at the meeting point, a rocky pass where the landscape shifted from jungle to the chaparral, the area quickly checked for traps or an ambush. (While a betrayal from Senegos was unlikely, there _were_ brigands and worse in the area.)

  
  


Only a moment later, Senastrasz pulled Harry  aside and whispered in his ear. “There’s a Blue Dragonspawn in the underbrush, concealing herself with magic. She’s almost certainly just observing us; I can tell you from her scent she’s not hostile right now. Remember they have reasons to doubt us.”

  
  


With that said, Harry nodded his understanding and in a voice pitched to be heard by their observer, replied.  _ Ƥ: “Stay safe you two, and good hunting.” _

  
  


At that, Senastrasz and Dalistraza headed back south to hunt something tasty, Dalistraza eager to try one of the famous tigers of the area. (The Stranglethorn  T iger, while bearing similarities to both the tigers and extinct Saber-toothed Cat of Earth, shared one important trait with the domesticated felines of the same world: large litter sizes and the ability to have more than one litter a year. If their numbers weren’t controlled in some manner, they would eventually eat all the game and begin to either starve or focus their attention on the thinking creatures that shared their range.)

  
  


Now that Harry’s group of three were waiting on the ground, Stine re-took his mortal form, taking the first free time he’d had since coming to Earth to practice his archery. Harry was kind enough to transfigure a target out of a small rock formation at the side of the road before he started putting his new wand through its paces by transfiguring a series of targets and casting the spells he had learned that morning. Harry truly found himself taking to the lightning spell, it just felt _right_ to use.

  
  


Though, all six spells Aurogos had dug up for this morning’s impromptu lesson were useful in their own right. Caliona, the glamour still holding, was giving a convincing impression of being bored while still keeping a look-out from an outcropping of rock, coincidentally situated so that if she was attacked both Harry and Stine would be able to cover her. Harry had to remind himself that here, her kind were hunted, though admittedly with good reason.

  
  


All three of them simply enjoyed the warm sun, focused on their self-given tasks for roughly half an hour. At that point, three Blue drakes appeared from the north, descending towards them. Two of them bore the standard blue and white coloring, while the third bore the darker ‘azure’ coloration. Harry made a point of returning the area to its former state, though some rocks were still smoking from what might be his new favorite spell. That done, he replaced his wand and walked over to where Stine and Caliona still stood together, the Bronze drake still in his feline form, the bow and arrows in a holster at his sides.

  
  


The three newcomers were decidedly jumpy, not helped by Harry greeting them in Parseltongue. Their nervousness also wasn’t helped by the obviously disguised drake at Harry’s side, the three easily sensing the magic disguising her. The small fact that Caliona’s behavior and body posture didn’t fit with the usually more reserved or detached Green dragons wasn’t helping either. 

  
  


After another moment of a tense stand-off, Stine returned to his true form, and in a voice that implied he was both all-knowing (This was a skill the entire Bronze Dragonflight took very seriously, even giving instruction in how to maximize the effect.) and rather disappointed in the three, asked that they stop wasting time here and open a portal for the seven of them.

  
  


When the drakes argued that there were only six individuals here, Harry sighed, drew his wand and poured as much power as he could into the general counter-spell. When the spell, visible as a ball of red light, hit a suspicious clump of bushes, space seemed to ripple briefly before a reptilian creature covered in Blue scales became visible. She possessed both a quadrupedal body and a humanoid torso and wearing only a top with sleeves centered around what was obviously either a metal bra or a bra that was armored.

  
  


_Normally, I’d wonder why make a bra out of metal and then not wear armor, but learning the how and why of the scale treatments all the dragons soaked in this weekend filled that in. If done correctly,_ **almost** _every scale on a dragon or dragonkin can be as strong as iron. Also, I can see what my sworn meant when they said dragonspawn can look like they’re slow, lumbering but creatures but really aren’t._

  
  


Now revealed, the dragonspawn sighed and walked over to the group, giving Harry a considering glance before her hands began to glow. Ten seconds later, a swirling blue oval appeared inches above the road, hanging in mid-air. Giving Harry another glance, she proceeded calmly through the portal, leaving the hot, dusty road behind. Caliona and Stine returned to their mortal forms, and Harry led them through.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


A much cooler climate greeted Harry on the other side, he found himself breathing deeply of a breeze that was blowing through the clearing that smelled faintly of the sea. Instead of the jungle’s endless tangle of trees, a grassland marked with occasional trees greeted them. Also, unless he was mistaken, there was a Blue wyrm, dragon, and eight drakes that had been waiting for them to arrive. Oh, and the arrival area felt saturated with magic, probably wards in case Harry’s group turned out to be hostile.

  
  


With a smile, hoping to soothe both their hosts and his two sworn who had just stepped through the portal, Harry addressed his hosts.  _ Ƥ: “Greetings, dragons. My name is Harry Potter, I’m here to pick up a few items Aurogos left with his master. Senegos asked to meet with myself and my companion. I would like to introduce Cali and Stine, the only dragon I’ve met so far with such a unique mortal form.” _

  
  


Though some of the drakes were hesitant to allow outsiders in, the wyrm overruled them. It turned out the wyrm, Jagragosa had been the mate of Senegos for nearly four-thousand years, and made a point of reminding the younger dragons around her that they followed Senegos because they trusted in his judgment even if he was sometimes a little odd. For Harry, he was glad to put a face to Senegos’s younger mate. After living for nearly fifty of his sixty-two years as part of the ‘Azurewing’ Brood of the Blue Dragonflight, Aurogos knew almost all the individuals rather well, and Jagragosa was someone he respected and enjoyed interacting with.

  
  


(Aurogos knew most of their stories as well. For example, it had caused something of a stir when Jagragosa had arrived at Azurewing just after growing into a dragon from a drake. After getting to know Senegos over the next decade, she fell for him and spent the next hundred years wooing the ancient wyrm before she finally convinced him and his elder mate to accept her, even though she was sixteen-thousand years Senegos’s junior.)

  
  


Taking her second form, Jagragosa smiled at the reactions of the visitors, especially Stine. As it turns out, he was not the first dragon to take a quadrupedal second form with a humanoid torso. In her case her form was that of a Dryad, one of ‘Cenarius’s Children’ (A group of races with similar physical characteristics that stood as testament to a demigod’s love life that would meet with approval from Zeus.) with a silver coat of fur covering her lower deer-like body, pale skin on the Night Elven torso that rose from where a deer’s neck ought to be, and the dark blue hair and lightly glowing light blue eyes. Harry looked between her and Stine and chuckled, quickly followed by Jagragosa herself.

  
  


Composing herself, she looked at Stine and spoke to him. Đ:  “ _ It’s good to see another dragon that understands the superior stability of four legs. I bet you’ve gotten a lot of teasing for your form though, Titans know my brood never quit with the jokes…” _

  
  


Đ:  “ _ Indeed, but it just meant I got all the tasks that involved interacting with the Tol’vir, which made up for it. Is there any chance you’d be willing to record a lecture for dragons attempting to grasp their second form? My new friend here and the others mostly choose the usual shapes, and I had such high hopes for them…”  _ In the last sentence, Stine’s voice shifted to a decidedly playful tone.

  
  


“ _ Mostly?” _

  
  


“ _The other female took a Draenei’s form.”_ This brought forth laughter on the wyrm’s part.

  
  


“ _ Oh my, I bet she’s had fun getting those legs to work!” _

  
  


Still distinctly amused, the dragon masquerading as a dryad handed each visitor a small bracelet made of segmented blue stones. Even Harry’s senses could feel the magic surging through them, something that would have given him pause if the purpose hadn’t been explained to him already. 

  
  


Allowing his group unrestricted access through the wards would have been out of character for Senegos; whether or not he trusted his student allowing a Twilight dragon through his defenses unhindered was madness. These bracelets would allow them to see their way through the wards and contained a powerful tracking charm. Oh, and only a Blue dragon or wyrm could remove them without removing their hands. In a show of trust, Harry looked their hostess in the eye and calmly slid the item over his hand.

  
  


When the cool stone had settled over his left forearm Harry felt something shift in the air, and looking at the hillside, he saw barren stone fade away before his very eyes. Now revealed was a collection of very large buildings built into the stone of the foothill. The giant doors and courtyards were certainly built for larger creatures than humans, and Harry took in the architecture and gardens for a moment. 

  
  


Speaking in Darnassian, Harry voiced his appreciation for the feat of magic. “These protections… They’re as good as a Fidelius Charm! But you must have built them out of conditional illusion spells, layered by the thousands! That’s incredible that there are so many different components working together and not conflicting!”

  
  


He continued to gaze at the various structures, not minding Caliona moving very close to him now that she grasped the true size of the settlement before them. Harry was about to continue when he saw three young teens, probably ‘mortals’ taken in by the Azurewing, racing around in the distance on what appeared to be circular blue flying stone, or perhaps metal discs covered in runes. “What are _those?_ They’re moving so _fast_ and they’re turning even sharper than my Firebolt!”

  
  


Harry’s sudden outburst managed to relieve a lot of the tensions of the hosting group. All present understood the fascination with speed many teens had, even remembering their own exploits. It was a very _normal_ response. Stifling a chuckle, Jagragosa spoke again as she gestured for them to follow, shifting tongues to Darnassian to follow Harry. “If your meeting with Senegos goes well I’ll give you the schematics. The discs aren’t a simple creation, but they are versatile and can be scaled up to a truly ridiculous size if you wish.”

  
  


Not long after, the three were shown in to Senegos’s chamber where the ancient wyrm was laying in a (relatively) shallow pool of glowing purple liquid. Though the dragon was resting his head on his crossed forelimbs, when Harry came close he still had to look _up_ to achieve eye contact. 

  
  


Senegos certainly looked old, though if he was truly over 20,000 years old, he was in rather good shape for his age. To Harry’s eyes the most interesting thing about the wyrm’s physical appearance was his horns and claws; instead of the appearance Harry would have expected from the various dragons he’d seen so far those on Senegos seemed to be made of blue crystals.

  
  


And on one of the old dragon’s horns, perching unruffled, Hedwig was sitting calmly. With an imperial hoot Hedwig took to the air, gliding down slowly before landing on Harry’s shoulder. Azeroth had seemingly been good to her, as she was physically larger, heavier, and had gained streaks of blue feathers. Harry greeted her, gently stroking her feathers as she gently nipped at his hair. “Well girl, you’re looking good, but I have to ask, what have you gotten into?”

  
  


As if to answer, Hedwig alighted from his shoulder and swooped over the glowing liquid the elder dragon was lying in. Flying close, she took a drink without landing and returned to Harry. She again alighted on his shoulder, now with a beak dripping the purple glowing liquid.

  
  


Senegos startled Harry’s group rather badly when he started to speak in Darnassian, his voice deep and rumbling. “Damn bird. Never should have let my great, great, great, great, great granddaughter take care of it. Emmigosa might be one of my favorites, but she’s in trouble right now. 

  
  


“I left the owl with her to take care of because she’s usually such a responsible whelp, but what did she do? Snuck out to the Shrine of Aviana, the avian Ancient* that’s just returned to this world and then started feeding your owl a series of rare substances. Congratulations Harry Potter, your familiar is now something  _ new _ . Since you didn’t ask me to mutate your owl I’m going to give you a few things to continue her transformation and keep her healthy.

  
  


“ Now, Twilight drake, return to your true form and let me get a good look at you. It isn’t that I don’t trust my apprentice, but such claims must be verified.” With that, the old wyrm’s eyes began to glow brightly as he called on the ability to physically see magic. For the next half hour, he peered carefully at Caliona, changing angles often. 

  
  


When he ordered her to come closer so he could get a better look, Harry stepped up and stayed close to her, calming her with the reassurance of his presence. ( While a 20,000 year old dragon that had spent those years studying and basking (and now apparently basting) in powerful magic was far outside his current ability to defeat,  it was the thought that reassured Caliona. )

  
  


Being among so many potential enemies was difficult for Caliona, but Harry’s presence at her side and a warm hand on her neck kept her calm. After a time, Senegos began asking her a long series of questions to ascertain her mental state and life history. Harry was about to cut off the questioning of his increasingly distressed sworn, when Senegos finished his interrogation with one final question. “Last question: Tell me drake, how do you feel about the time you spent fighting on Hyjal?”

  
  


Gathering herself, glad this was nearly over, Caliona answered him. “Ashamed and proud. I hate many of the things I did, but I take pride that even driven by those horrible voices I was never needlessly cruel. I regret killing so many, but even when the voices screamed at me to make their enemies _suffer,_ I refused.”

  
  


Senegos was extremely pleased at that as he turned his complete focus onto Harry. “Mortal, you have my true gratitude. I have been studying this problem since Neltharion fell, and you’ve given me more hope for the Black and Twilight Dragonflights than anyone sane has had in ten-thousand years. You also have my personal thanks for taking Aurogos into your care. He is… important to me. All three of you, please move to the wall by the door for the moment, I have to contact someone I rather dislike. After I get that out of the way, I will give you as much aid as I can.”

  
  


Harry and his drakes moved as requested. Senegos, rising to his feet with a groan began weaving a great deal of magic once Harry was far enough away. When he finished, a glowing fog rose into being in front of him, shaping slowly into a dragon adorned with jewelry, very nearly twice the size of Senegos. Her (And after spending time around Valistraza and asking her a rather awkward question in his quest to know more about his sworn, Harry was very sure this was a female.) color was impossible to tell with the projection maintaining a simple monotone blue.

  
  


Still, from what he’d heard Harry suspected he knew who this individual was. Thinking quickly, he cast silencing and invisibility spells on the three of them. Now that the image was fully formed Harry could feel a presence from it, and he dared not draw attention to himself. Though she had not sworn loyalty to him yet, Harry refused to even indirectly expose Valistraza to danger. Harry had _meant_ his promise to her after all.**

  
  


Across the hall, Senegos finished the spell that would limit the perception of the being he was contacting to himself and focused all his attention onto the image of Alexstrasza, the Dragonqueen, the Aspect of the Red Dragonflight, the  Lifebinder.

  
  


Đ: “ _ Alexstrasza, I must speak to you. You should have recently received a report on a task force that was lost to us in the Eastern Kingdoms. My apprentice has contacted me from the other side and given me an answer to something we’ve been seeking for a very long time. I have verified his claims, and can tell you that there exists a magical effect that is even now slowly bleeding off the touch of the Old Gods from at least one Black and three Twilight drakes. Dragonqueen, you don’t have to order them killed anymore! If you give them the option to surrender, if you tell your forces and the mortals to take captives and spare their whelps and eggs, we can avoid more pointless slaughter!” _

  
  


After Senegos finished speaking, there was a pause. Over in the shadows, hidden from the view of the communication spell Harry Potter could see Senegos’s face dropping slowly as the seconds drug on and he didn’t receive the response he expected. Eventually, what seemed like an eternity later, the image of Alexstrasza replied. Đ: “ _ I am sorry Senegos. Even if what you say is true, the risks are too great. All those corrupted by the Old Gods must be laid to rest before they can spread the evil that infects them. It truly breaks my heart to sacrifice so many lives...” _

  
  


With a snarl, the Blue wyrm began speaking over Alexstrasza. “ _I care not for your_ **heart.** _Neither do I trust your judgment! You proved yourself ill-fitted to lead five-thousand years ago when you refused to sacrifice Malygos to save all his children, to save his entire Dragonflight!_ _ **I warned you Malygos was dragging us down with him!**_ _Do you remember my last words to you until the Nexus war began?*** You ignored me then, listen to me now! We can save them, not all, but those that choose to surrender rather than die? Those can be saved! Will you condemn them to death just as you did the Blue Dragonflight? Will you choose to destroy both the Black and Twilight Flights when a better option exists?”_

  
  


With a dejected expression, Alexstrasza spoke again to Senegos, adopting a tone one would use with a child who could not understand why they were wrong.  “ _ I am sorry. I will dispatch a wyrm and escort to… purify your test subjects.” _

  
  


Harry didn’t need to look into Caliona’s eyes to know the terror running through her, the way her body shook was cause enough to wrap his arms firmly around her neck and hold her close. In fact, he almost missed Senegos’s low growl of a reply to Alexstrasza. “ _Do not send any forces to invade my home that you cannot spare for the war,_ **Dragonqueen** _ **.**_ _I will try not to kill those you send against me, but you may consider any you send lost to you.”_

  
  


“ _ Senegos! Our world teeters on the brink of destruction and you would choose now to betray us?” _

  
  


“ _ You are the one who has long since betrayed us with your poor leadership, Dragonqueen. Understand me, I have no wish for this world to end, neither will I attack your forces if left alone. Except, of course, if you persist in the slaughter of those who could still be saved. I will be sending my forces to secure our enemies’ whelps and eggs, since they are the most easily saved. Stand in my way at your own peril.” _

  
  


“ _ You forget yourself wyrm! I am the Aspect of Life! I was chosen by the Titans to lead all of our kind!” _

  
  


“ _And what a fine job you have done. Remember that I am older than you,_ **Aspect** _ **.**_ _Do not forget that I was also once a Proto-Dragon. I have studied more magic than all save the Titan Norgannon himself! When I refused to join the Nexus War, and kept my brood, at least, from dying pointless deaths, Malygos himself refused to storm my home by force. My claim of ending that war personally if he came for those I love was_ **no idle threat.** _Consider that,_ **Dragonqueen.** ” With that, Senegos slashed the air that held the projection with crystalline claws, violently shattering the spell.

  
  


As the magic dissipated, a new bit of magic flew through the air. Suddenly, the voice of Senegos could be heard from every room and hall. The echoing was nearly deafening. “Everyone! Begin preparing Azurewing for a siege! We need food collected and preserved, but I want hunting parties no smaller than five drakes or mortals! Field agents report to me after getting your equipment ready, I’m sending you out in less than an hour! Alexstrasza has proven herself a fool one time too many, I want everyone to work together in case she dares attack us here when even the Mad Aspect was wise enough to let us be!”

  
  


Harry Potter, while not sure of the full impact of the last hour’s events, could tell something truly important had just taken place. He canceled the charms on his group just in time for Stine to begin shaking. It took a moment to recognize what was happening as a panic attack, or shock setting in. Not hesitating for a second, Harry quickly remembered what had worked with the Ralion’s group that first night.

  
  


Moments later found Harry soaked, holding his Bronze dragon in as strong a bear hug as he could, rubbing his drake’s head while using his wand to run as much steaming water over Stine as possible. It took almost twenty minutes during which he was focused completely on his task before Stine’s breathing began to calm. Not stopping what he was doing, Harry spoke gently when Stine seemed a little more lucid. “Stine, are you alright? Tell me what’s going on.”

  
  


“ I’d say the timeline just took a sharp curve.” Harry jolted harshly, he had been so focused on Stine that he had missed the rather large dragon walking up behind him. “He should be fine in time. Your presence has changed the path the future may take, for good or ill.

  
  


“Here is the chest you sent me, I’ve reconstructed the ‘expansion charm’ and modified it a little. I no longer have doubts about leaving my apprentice in your care mortal. More, there is something I would ask of you. You know that this world is in danger of destruction? Then you will understand my request: If Azeroth falls, save as many as you can. I don’t care if you have to drag them kicking and screaming, _**act**_ if it saves their lives. Especially my family.”

  
  


Senegos glanced down at the Blue drake now at his side. “No matter how stubborn they might be. This is my granddaughter, Stellagosa. She will guide you to my  study , I am giving you a full copy of the Blue Dragonflight’s archive in addition to any manuscripts you desire to copy. In addition, there are some useful items and a number of creatures already sleeping within your chest. Though I would prefer to be a gracious host, I have much to do, Harry Potter.

  
  


“ Do not linger too long here, this place may not be safe for your sworn much longer. I doubt Alexstrasza would be willing to pay the butcher’s bill needed to storm my home, but then again I don’t have much faith in her judgment. Is there anything we need to discuss?”

  
  


“ There is a spell called the Fidelius Charm on my world. I don’t know if it would be useful to you or not, but it can hide locations from sight. You might find it useful.”

  
  


Senegos responded in a patient tone without patronizing Harry. “It is an impressive piece of magic, however it is of limited use for me. Aurogos told me enough about the spell for us to attempt it, and we found it is ineffective on our kind that are  more than several millennia old. Additionally, it would interfere with many of the defenses here. Do not worry mortal, I have been carving runes and placing wardstones in the area for a very long time. My home will not fall easily. Is there anything else?”

  
  


Harry thought for a moment, considering what he should say before he spoke. “There is a magical essence within you. For you to truly think clearly, you need a way to disrupt it. A competing essence seems to work, but I only know for sure how to achieve that with a female dragon.”

  
  


There was a common joke around the Azurewing settlement: ‘There’s old, and then there’s Senegos.’ Despite his truly advanced age, the wyrm’s reaction to Harry’s statement proved the dragon still had fire in his veins. Everything went still for a moment, and then Harry and those around him were struggling very hard to even remain on their knees. A torrent of magic flooded the room, laced to the brim with such betrayal and righteous fury that Harry and the four drakes could feel it burning at them, very nearly a physical sensation of skin flaking away under the assault. This was a poignant reminder for Harry, that as powerful as he’d become recently, he remained a large fish in a small pond, and that Azeroth was an entirely different  _ ocean _ .

  
  


In a voice that was terrifying in its complete lack of emotion, Senegos spoke again. “Are you suggesting that our highest law… The reason our children have been murdered since the Dragonflights were created...” the old creature spoke, unable to verbally finish his thoughts, as if the horror was too great.

  
  


Struggling to breath in the face of such a creature’s wrath, Harry choked out the words as best as he was able. “I don’t know if there’s other reasons, but the Broodmother under my protection seems to be the only dragon I’ve met not suffering some form of mental control.”

  
  


Seeming to reel in his emotions for a moment, Senegos turned to his granddaughter. “Starlight, go with them to the archive, but on your way tell the others that I need half an hour to calm myself. See that this group gets a copy of every manuscript they desire. Then take them to my private artifact vault, and give them anything within reason that won’t weaken our defense.

  
  


“ Harry, you will send me a sworn oath from that Broodmother in Common, Draconic, and whatever other languages she speaks with the recording devices Stella provides. And know, Harry Potter, that I have been tapping the ley-lines for millennia to prolong my life until I see my people prosper once more, and that has granted a similar effect to what you described. Now  _** Go ** _ .”

  
  


At the last word, Harry saw a flash of light and when it faded the four of them were in a new corridor, some distance away from where they’d been. Every one of them was more than a little shaky. Harry and his sworn because they did not expect a show of such force, and Stellagosa because she had never, in all her thirty-eight years, seen her grandfather in a rage like that.

  
  


Now that Harry could move again, he tried to calmly stroke the agitated ball of feathers and sharp claws on his shoulder while drawing his wand and levitating both of his rather shell-shocked sworn. Harry gestured to the Blue drake that was fighting off the shock, and after a moment spent composing herself she began to lead Harry through the massive corridors.

  
  


Very soon, Harry, the three drakes and a slowly calming Hedwig reached the archive. Stellagosa had flagged down several messengers, one of them a mortal riding one of those interesting blue discs. Once in the relative safety with the doors to the archive sealed behind them, Harry took out a spare expanded trunk (The last week having shown the value of the items in spades, many of the old trunks stored in the Room of Lost Things had now been enchanted.) and levitated both his dragons inside after a series of water-proofing spells and adding a foot of nearly scalding hot water. Leaving both his drakes to relax and arranging them so they wouldn’t drown should they fall asleep, Harry got a good look around before he found himself with an angry Blue dragon in his face.

  
  


“ What did you imply that set my grandfather off? I’ve never seen him angry like that, hell, it’s almost impossible to upset him at all!”

  
  


Taking a deep breath to steady his own rather frayed nerves, Harry smiled when Hedwig finally detached her claws from his shoulder and gave a threatening hoot to the dragon. “I implied that the Dragonflights have been betrayed, and I probably confirmed something he has suspected himself for a long time. I find myself very relieved that anger wasn’t directed at us. Whatever comes, I think you can trust your grandfather. I can see why Aurogos is so fond of him.

  
  


“ Now, let’s get started. I have almost a thousand blank tomes ready for my copying spell, if you’d be willing to help me I’d appreciate it.” Reaching into an expanded pocket Harry withdrew a case and canceled the shrinking spell on it. Showing the collection of various wands to the Blue drake, Harry continued.

  
  


“Aurogos wanted me to give this to you, or rather for you to pick out which one you and others found fit best. They’re magic foci that a Blue, Green, and Red drake crafted together. When you find the best one for you I’ll teach you the spell I’m using. But first, can you point me to the instructions to craft something called a ‘Quel'Serrar?’ Senastrasz wasn’t very clear on what it was, only that we _need_ to know how to forge it.”

  
  


Calming, the Blue drake snorted. “You speak perfect Darnassian but you don’t speak Thalassian at all, do you?”

  
  


Glad to see the drake relax a little, Harry responded with a smile as they moved to the desired section. “Hey, a week ago Elune shoved the language into my head. I’ll have you know I can now speak the native tongue of my people, Darnassian, and Parseltongue, a magical language that means I can talk to snakes and apparently dragons with a bit of effort.”

  
  


From there Harry and soon after Stellagosa, now in a shape of a pale elf with blue hair and eyes, spent the next four hours copying tome after tome to the blank ones Harry had been sent from Sirius of all people. (After Sirius promised Harry they weren’t stolen from anyone that might be on their side of the coming war, and that a Marauder ‘had his ways,’ Harry let the matter drop. Hurrah for plausible deniability!) After an hour, Caliona joined them, still shaky from stress but capable of making use of her fancy-looking wand with blue and green swirls in the wood to speed up the process. An hour after that, Stine came up and began to help with his _orange_ and _white_ wand.

  
  


Not long after  Stine joined them , Jagragosa entered the archive and allowed the visitors to copy a tome that detailed the creation and maintenance of the discs that had impressed Harry so much. Her own duties finished for the moment, the wyrm picked out a wand and joined their efforts. Harry was rather impressed as he watched a dozen tomes at once fly off shelves under a levitation charm and settle next to the blank tomes at the feet of the dragon in the shape of a dryad. Then he watched that same creature copy a dozen texts at once and return the originals to their shelves with the barest flicks of her new wand. Harry was truly impressed.

  
  


During the time spent working, Harry had contacted Senastrasz and his sister, along with Aurogos. Aurogos provided a short list of items he knew were in his master’s collection that would prove useful, and Senastrasz and Dalistraza promised to have a fire and some roasted meat waiting for him just inside the cave when he was ready to return. Harry also gave a communication mirror to Stellagosa and took the time to show both her and Jagragosa the Patronus spell and its communication variation even though he had yet to check that the spell could traverse the world-bridging portal.  _ Something to test before I step through. _

  
  


Eventually, after a short stop at Senegos’s vault which netted among other things: a number of rather powerful ward-stones, a partially ruined but still impressive ‘arcane protector’ golem, (large enough to box with Valistraza if it was functional) and several ‘unfired blades’ of different shapes,  Harry headed for home . It  had been a long haul, and Harry was happy to be heading back. 

  
  


Jagragosa and Stellagosa walked Harry past the plethora of magics now denying any magical travel that did not originate from Senegos himself, Caliona at Harry’s side in her mortal form and Stine sleeping off the jolt he received safe in a dry trunk covered in warming charms. The sun had set, and the night was cool as Harry paused before he left the protective area. Turning to his two hosts, he gave his last words for now as they removed the three stone bands that allowed Harry and his drakes to enter the wards unhindered.

  
  


“ Good luck Jagragosa, Stellagosa. If things go badly here, use the mirror and we’ll help you as much as we can. Even if it’s just a place to run to. Stay safe.” And with that, Harry gathered his magic and apparated to the cave’s entrance with his familiar on his shoulder and Caliona clinging to him. Upon arriving, Caliona wrapped her arms and legs around Harry, clinging to his chest and burrowing her head into his neck on the side not occupied by Hedwig even as she began to tremble as the day’s stress caught up to her.

  
  


Harry accepted a side of some kind of meat on a metal skewer from the Red drakes before telling them to leave no trace that they were ever here. Hedwig made her own way to the portal after accepting a tribute of the greasy meat seasoned with spices. Actually, as Harry offered Caliona half the skewer while he chewed on the other, he decided it was pretty good, but nothing he’d eaten before, both the meat itself and the herbs it was seasoned with.

  
  


Just before they reached the final cavern, it seemed Senegos completed a truly massive work of magic, and Harry’s group saw the final result manifest near Caliona’s head.  It was Harry’s guess, and he was right, that the message they saw was sent to every Black and Twilight Dragon on Azeroth.  An elf, a High Elf, appeared and began speaking in what was now a recognizable voice:

  
  


Đ:  “ ** I am Senegos, the eldest dragon still alive. I send this message to every Black and Twilight Dragon on Azeroth: Those dragons who surrender to me will be allowed to live. You have never been given a choice in who you serve, I am giving you one now. Find me in Azsuna on the Broken Isles, offer your honest surrender to an honorable mortal, or surrender to one of my agents, and I will ensure you live past this war! You have my oath that no matter what happens, I will never be cruel to you or allow others to be cruel to those that choose to leave this war. **

  
  


“ **You may think me mad for my offer, since the current war has no victor. But Azeroth has fought off Demons, the Dead, and foul gods before, and I would bet our world accomplishes the impossible once again. When the war turns against you, when your armies are shattered, come to me and live! Bring your eggs, your whelps, any others you can find with you, and flee to my home! Come to me if you decide you simply want to live without fighting a pointless war! Come to me if you decide you want to** _ **live**_ **on this flawed world!**

  
  


“ ** I have stood in defiance of my Aspect before, and I stand now in defiance of the Queen of all Dragons! Alexstrasza believes there is no hope for you, but I Name her Fool once again! **

  
  


“ **To Deathwing, who I once knew as Neltharion, come for me directly if you wish. But know that even when you struck down your brother with madness and he waged war against the entire world, Malygos** _ **feared**_ **to assault my sanctum. Perhaps you would fare better, but I prepared to strike down Malygos if necessary for ten-thousand years; if you think I abandoned those preparations when he fell you are truly mad! Even the** _ **mortals**_ **know the danger of bearding a dragon or wizard in their lairs, and I am among the most powerful of both.”**

  
  


Neither Harry or the drakes knew what to say, so they simply hastened through the portal,  glad to reach home.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


After the day they’d had, reaching Hogwarts again was a relief. Thankfully Harry had some muscle on his frame from summer yard work and the truly massive number of stairs he climbed every day at school, because he had yet to convince Caliona to let go of him. Harry had arranged for his group of drakes to meet along with Hermione, Valistraza, and the Tonks family. On a new, larger mirror situated at one end of the table in the Room of Requirement, the Grangers and Sirius were visible.

  
  


Thankfully the whelps were asleep right now with Dobby, Winky, (Unhappy with being a free house elf, Winky was happy to bond with Valistraza and help take care of the whelps. In the two days since bonding, the house elf already stood several inches taller and looked markedly healthier.) and all of the otherwise idle house elves watching over them. Apparently, when a Green Broodmother (even one still in training) says it is time for bed, they have any number of safe methods of enforcing their decree with an iron fist. 

  
  


Harry slumped down in a very comfortable chair, more than a little sweaty after carefully peeling off his cloak. It warmed Harry’s heart to see both Ralion and Bavaku joining them at the table, Bavaku being the only dragon in his natural form. Getting the meeting started, Harry carefully ran his hand up and down Caliona’s spine as he gathered his thoughts. “As far as I know, we’re all okay. Caliona is just very stressed out right now, and I think Stine is suffering from shock.”

  
  


The currently feline Bronze drake attempted to rebuff Dalistraza as she promptly descended on him, while Caliona simply snuggled in closer as Valistraza stepped up and rubbed a small amount of warm, soothing healing magic into her back. It only took a few moments for Caliona to fall asleep completely, though she remained locked around Harry. “Senegos seems like an honest, reliable dragon. I _order_ everyone to never cross him. While I was there he discovered a betrayal against his species, and his anger was rather breathtaking.”

  
  


Harry looked to Aurogos who seemed shocked. “Yeah, Stellagosa said she’d never seen him angry before, but when he figured out the truth about the Titan law Vali’s fleeing? He forcibly reminded me that there are much more powerful creatures out there than myself.”

  
  


Turning his attention to Valistraza, Harry dug out the three recording devices given to him. _Ƥ:_ “ _Vali, I need you to record a sworn oath in Draconic, Darnassian, and Common on these regarding what you’ve told me about the Law and the effects breaking it had on you. I’m going to send them back as soon as you’re done._ Everyone else, take the chest and start going through it. Senegos gave us quite a bit. And someone take a look at Hedwig please, I have no idea what happened to her, but she seems fine with it.”

  
  


Pausing to take a deep breath and then relea se it, Harry addressed his bronze drake. “Stine, I almost hate to ask, but please tell me everything you can about what happened.”

  
  


Seemingly unsure as to be thankful or angry, Stine replied to his Lord. “There’s a good chance the timeline the Bronze Dragonflight has been safe-guarding since their creation has been irreparably changed.”

  
  


_That_ got everyone’s attention, well those who had some idea what was going on anyway. Suddenly feeling very nervous, the months spent in the Dream had given Harry some idea of the magnitude of that statement and the possible repercussions. “Stine, give me as specific an answer as you can. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Also, did I just bring the wrath of the Bronze Flight down on our heads?”

  
  


Chuckling, Stine rolled his feline shoulders. “It could be good or bad my Lord. I really don’t know yet. As for us being attacked by my old Flight? Probably not yet. I think the moment with Senegos and Alexstrasza was the center of the shift, now it’s going to spread outwards like ripples on a pond. It won’t even be noticed for some time likely, not until a Bronze dragon slips out of the Timeways and finds events haven’t played out like they should.

  
  


“ In free moments, I’ve added a few Bronze runic defenses to the cave with the portal, specifically keyed to make it almost impossible for other Bronze Dragons to find; it’s something we’ve developed in case we don’t want to be noticed by our past selves. So long as we don’t attract attention to that place, it will be nearly impossible for them to find.”

  
  


Looking around the table, Harry groaned and just played the whole conversation from a Memory Viewing Device that one of the drakes asked the room to provide. (In the debate over which was better, the Memory Viewing Device from Azeroth, which was literally the item’s name in Draconic, or Earth’s Pensieve, neither was exactly superior to the other. Each was, however, better at different things: the MVD was somewhat easier to use, and made possible the addition of subtitles.)

  
  


Once everyone had seen what he had, including the message from Senegos as they left Azeroth, Harry spoke up again. “Okay, I may have just sparked a dragon civil war, this time it will be everyone against Senegos. Headmaster, send them anything that they might find useful. Senegos asked me to save as many as I could, what are our options for taking in a large number of refugees if we need to?”

  
  


Ideas were tossed in and out for a while, until Dan Granger spoke up. “What, exactly, are the limits on expanded spaces, and can they be kept stable permanently?”

  
  


Sirius was the one to answer him. “Different methods have different limits, but it doesn’t take much ambient magic to maintain an expansion if it’s done well. Hogwarts castle has been around for a thousand years now, and it is most certainly larger inside. With the ley-lines getting a boost from that portal, I don’t think that there’s anywhere on Earth that would fail to sustain moderate expansion charms. Here at the Potter Estate, we could sustain a very significant expansion but would need to make allowances for the extra dirt and water. Harry, we could have miles of farmland here with some careful work.”

  
  


The Blue drake nodded. “I’ll get my Dragonsworn on it tomorrow. Together we’ll figure out the best way to get as much growing area as possible. Anything else we should start researching? I admit to having a lot on my plate right now, but Minerva is proving a capable administrator and I’m glad to have her back in the castle. Dora Tonks, would you be willing to learn from her and start helping with keeping this castle running? I don’t want to shove more work on you, but complicated magic is something I’ve been learning to work with for my entire life, and there’s simply too much to do.”

  
  


In the last few days, Nymphadora Tonks, as she spent time with the Potter Dragonflight and the others under the school, found herself doubting her decision to be an Auror. The others she was staying with forced her to confront the corruption and cruelty of her government, and she had decided she couldn’t serve it and keep her conscience clean. She honestly wasn’t sure what to do with her life now. For the time being, she found herself oddly comfortable around the dragons, even if one of the little whelps had latched onto her fingers unexpectedly.

  
  


Being a Metamorphmagus had dominated her life in one way or another as long as she could remember, so she found it… pleasant, being around creatures who honestly didn’t care one way or another. It turned out her scent never changed no matter her shape, so it would be very difficult to fool them anyway. Watching Senas give Harry combat lessons had been entertaining, until he invited her to spar with him after Harry was exhausted physically. She had _also_ gotten her butt thrashed, though some of her environment-alternating spells had phased the Red drake.

  
  


Speaking of the drakes, Dora had watched them de-ice Ralion, and heard him immediately scream upon being defrosted, subdued to pained groans as the excess magic was drained out of him. Having watched a pensieve memory of the battle with Albus, she didn’t want to think of how painful it must have been to absorb so much extra magic. While she lacked the perspective to understand the scope, they apparently took enough out of him for the big Red dragon to get dizzy. It took her overhearing a quiet conversation Harry had with Ralion where he gently admonished the drake for being too _eager_ to die that she realized the drake had expected to perish in agony when he acted on Wednesday.

  
  


As she learned more about these dragons that, far from being dumb beasts were actually leagues smarter than _some_ of her fellow Aurors, she found herself intrigued. Their culture in general fascinated her, even more so when she learned that humans and others were welcome in their societies. Hell, half-dragons were apparently something _common._ And Ralion himself was incredibly interesting. Dora had spent much time with him, talking about his life, what little of it there was. Stolen as an egg, warped by dark magic, tortured into accepting mental slavery, forcibly aged, and forced to fight or die but still ending up on the side of the heroes in the end? Poor Ralion had lived such a _tragic_ life.

  
  


So, if she was being asked to take on more responsibilities, to further join herself to Harry Potter, not the Ministry’s corruption or Dumbledore’s web of lies? How could she turn that down? “I’ll help however I can. I’ve decided to throw my lot in with Harry, no way I’m returning to the Ministry that sends Dementors into residential neighborhoods and throws innocent men into Azkaban. Some of the magic you’ve been working on is far beyond me, so I don’t mind freeing up your time to work with it.”

  
  


Taking control of the meeting again, something he was getting better at, Harry spoke once more. “In the box is an ‘Arcane Protector’ big enough to grapple with Vali, I’d like that repaired and improved. I want more built, in whatever shape you choose, the important part is that they can take spell fire for my oathsworn. Senas, do you have any ideas on that front?”

  
  


Smiling, Senastrasz nodded to his Lord. “Yes, I’m planning on having a competition run through April to design and build a better sentry to replace the enchanted suits of armor. Winning team gets to stay on at Hogwarts a year past their graduation to study for their Masteries and free room and board for that time in exchange for some work at the forge. 

  
  


“If th e students can come up with a better shape or work out a spell or rune set that we can incorporate into our new line of guardians, it will be worth  their room and board for a year . I do want students we can trust on every team that seems to be doing well, just to make sure any improvements don’t end up in the wrong hands.”

  
  


“ Good idea Senas, go ahead. Fred and George Weasley along with Jason Atreides would probably be good candidates for eyes and ears. Anything else we need to worry about tonight? No? Good, I’m about bushed. Hermione, could you help me for a bit? Caliona doesn’t seem to want to let go, and I’m about to pass out.”

  
  


With that, the meeting broke up. Harry briefly soaked in warm water, not able to really clean himself with Caliona still clinging to his chest, but at least he got the stress induced sweat off himself. Alira offered to help get Caliona clean as well, and Harry was rather shocked when Hermione joined him in the bath as well, explaining she had helped bathe him when he passed out the other night, and would see everything regardless through the mental link with Alira. Privately, both Alira and Hermione were impressed that Caliona refused to budge even while unconscious in warm water in what could only be an impressive feat of accidental magic.

  
  


Thankfully for Harry, the Room of Requirement provided a bed that was comfortable even while the drake in human form remained latched to his chest. Harry slept soundly again, never even knowing of the increasingly irritated Dark Lord that once again failed to overcome a Green drake hiding inside an increasingly-complex Gryphon battle-suit.

  
  


At this point, Alira’s mental war machine was looking more like a mecha-gryphon than one of flesh.  Hermione and  the drake had prepared for further adaptations of this idea by watching various giant robot centered television shows Sunday afternoon at Potter Estate, (After rigging a rather slapdash collection of magic that generated a small amount of electric power constantly.) amusing Hermione’s parents when they admitted they were getting ideas for magic constructs.

  
  


That night was the first time Hermione joined Alira in defending her best friend’s mind from what had, after an afternoon spent bonding over television, come to resemble a two-pilot cockpit of either a ‘Gundam’ or ‘Zoid.’ Sadly, the Dark Lord had stepped up his game from approaching Harry’s mind as a formless black cloud: the defenders had to put in a good deal of effort to drive him off. But as Hermione, her body sound asleep with this battle her dream, controlled the magical weapon platforms and energy defenses and Alira moved the construct as an extension of her own body, Lord Voldemort was denied access to Harry Potter’s mind once again.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  
  
  


*Aviana is an Ancient, a subset of a group of creatures native to Azeroth called ‘Wild Gods.’ Essentially, they’re powerful creatures, mostly based around  animals . They’re powerful but not omnipotent, and can be killed, though not easily. (And even if you manage to kill them, eventually they ‘get better.’) Malorne, the father of Cenarius, is one of the more prominent ones alongside Aviana.

  
  


**Excerpt from Chapter 15:

{ (Harry speaking to Valistraza after letting her out of the stasis device.)  _ Ƥ: “Valistraza, you are safe here! Your charges are safe here! Your clutch is safe here, mixed blood or not! The eggs you carry will be subject to the Titan’s laws only over my charred, smoking corpse!”} _

  
  


***Excerpt from Chapter 5:

{Alexstrasza had sent him (Senegos) away empty handed that day, unwilling to tear the power of the Titans from her brother, killing him in the process. Feeling especially bitter, Senegos had shouted at her, as her guards shoved him away that if she left their Flight to wallow in despair she would come to regret it eventually, that all that suffering wouldn’t be confined to the Blues forever!}

  
  


A/N: In this fic, Senegos is older than the Aspects, (though only by 10-50 years) and the only other living dragon that was changed from his natural form into what they are now. The cannon lore doesn’t explicitly state that any proto-dragons other than the five Dragon Aspects were changed, but it’s a logical assumption that a large number were changed along with Alexstrasza, Malygos, Neltharion, Nozdormu, and Ysera. I mean, the rest of their respective dragonflights _had_ to come from somewhere, right?

  
  


You know, before the Titans changed the five Aspects, the race of proto-dragons were intelligent, thinking creatures. Yes, their race was very young, but they had crossed the line from ‘animals’ to ‘people.’ Yet, in modern Azeroth, proto-dragons no longer have their intelligence, and are nothing but dumb beasts that can be domesticated by the brave or foolhardy. Only the dragons that served the Titans retained their intelligence.  _ I wonder what happened there? _

  
  



	18. Chapter 18: Charge of the Potter Dragonflight

  
We’re getting a little bit of world building this chapter! I want to say thanks again to hkurtz2013 on Fanfiction . Net for helping to edit this chapter!  
  


I'm thinking of moving all the adult scenes to a separate fic, containing just those scenes and changing this fic's rating.

Reviews help motivate me to write and edit! (Chapters 1-6 now updated, no plot changes.)

Chapter 18: Charge of the Potter Dragonflight

  
  
  


Wednesday morning found much of Slytherin House in a pensive mood, including the Malfoy heir sitting in front of the fireplace. Draco, if he was honest to himself, did not really miss Severus Snape. True, the man had favored his own house to the point of ridiculousness, but after much thought, Draco agreed with the new Headmaster’s argument about that behavior crippling his housemates in the long run.

  
  


Now Slytherins had to _actually_ use their cunning with the other houses, and though many of them were having no luck at all, it felt _right_ that they either sink or swim on their own merits. If nothing else, Professor Vector’s overturning of many of Snape’s old policies had revealed a distressing number of morons within his house.

  
  


Andromeda Tonks teaching potions was an entirely new experience. Draco was distressed at how much foundational knowledge Professor Snape had failed to impart and had expressed such in his letters home. Professor Tonks had proved strict but fair, which made absolute sense when cauldrons could explode so easily. The entire feel of the classroom had changed drastically, with better lighting and ventilation charms being only a small part. To be honest, Draco enjoyed it.

  
  


He had even been amused when Harry Potter, upon hearing a couple of blood purists disparaging Andromeda  Tonks  for marrying a muggleborn, had asked them to stop being fools. When they had objected, loudly, Harry asked them to look at the daughter the two had produced and compare it to the like of the common idiots their own lines spawned. From an objective standpoint, Potter had a real point. Nymphadora Tonks was intelligent, at least moderately powerful, and had a gift so rare that ‘Dora’ was the only Metamorphmagus nearly everyone at Hogwarts had ever met.

  
  


When Harry had goaded the fools into attacking them, they quickly found themselves stunned and stuck to the vaulted ceilings with quills transfigured into replicas of their wands just outside their reach. Harry had actually given the wands to Professor Flitwick in the next class but claimed he couldn’t remember where he left the two fools. Draco had mocked them in the Slytherin Common room that night, telling them that Potter  _ may  _ have a point if they were the best their family lines could produce. Draco had sent the memory home for viewing, noting that Potter had seemed to enjoy tricking the two into attacking him so he could justify retribution.

  
  


The early morning peace which a number of students were taking advantage of to complete homework assignments, was interrupted with a crack. Draco had simply been enjoying a bit of time in front of the fire, reflecting on events, and was surprised when he saw Headmaster Salonar striding towards him. After a polite greeting the new Headmaster, who had already shattered all expectations of him by proving at least reasonably competent, not to mention giving an interesting lesson on Monday, began to speak about a rather intriguing topic.

  
  


“ Good morning Draco. I was wondering, would you be interested in taking the Beast Magic class next semester? I received the first batch of magical familiars ready to bond to the students here, and have one that might be a good fit for you. It’s very exciting because the creatures were thought to be extinct, but now I have three of them in the castle!”

  
  


That got Draco’s attention. “What sort of creature are they? What can they do?”

  
  


Smirking at the Malfoy heir, the blue-haired Headmaster responded. “You’ll see. They’re a relative of dragons, they’re only hatchlings now, but when they’re fully mature you’ll be able to get a saddle on them. The only references I’ve seen on them made them out to be formidable war mounts when tamed, with a tendency to play in thunderstorms. Bonding to them is a life-long commitment, so why don’t you come to the Beast Magic classroom on the first floor between the Great Hall and central staircase to see for yourself.”

  
  


Turning to look behind him, the Headmaster smiled at a few other students that were congregating behind him. “Miss Greengrass, I invite you to join us, you may find a creature to your liking.”

  
  


With that, the headmaster apparated away. Deciding this sounded far too interesting to pass up, Draco gathered the supplies for his first class that day and left. What he was really looking forward to was the class after lunch, Magical Blacksmithing. After listening around, it had seemed that most of the school had attempted to gain entry leading to far too many students for one Professor to teach even if the Headmaster stepped in to help out. Hogwarts’ rumor mill had been running rampant with how the teenaged Professor would reduce the class size.

  
  


After the Headmaster’s lesson two days ago, Draco decided to pursue the Blacksmithing course in hopes of creating a weapon for himself like the Headmaster’s scythe. After some false starts, Draco found himself leaning towards the water and air spells out of Monday’s selection, (Nearly every Quidditch player in the school had, unsurprisingly, felt at home using the air magic.) and he was already trying to visualize a weapon that wielded those elements. 

Yesterday Draco had joined a group of Ravenclaws, and while not apologizing for his previous bearing, admitted that the events of the previous week had given him much to think on. The conversation was interesting, because they were talking about the possible connotations of a person’s ‘elemental proclivity.’

  
  


Draco agreed that the new Headmaster was likely a man who would never let emotion get in the way of his logic and was likely to be the kind of man who utterly destroyed those that earned his anger. Draco was surprised when the conversation turned to Harry. He had expressed his honest opinion that he felt sorry for the irony of Harry having a talent at the same element whose icon emblazoned his forehead. (This was the first time Draco could _honestly_ say he felt sorry for Potter, the irony of that scar was really something.)

  
  


_That_ comment led to an in-depth discussion about the scar itself possibly being a marking that should have told Harry what type of magic to focus on learning. A consensus was agreed that Dumbledore had been trying to keep Harry uninformed and weak, so the previous Headmaster hadn’t pointed that out to the boy. Draco had fun heaping on observations from his first meeting with Harry Potter, how in hindsight someone should have seen what was happening to the boy.

  
  


When a Ravenclaw in his Seventh Year suggested someone should go find Potter’s ‘family’ and express their displeasure in the treatment of a magical child of extraordinary potential, Draco advised against it. The group’s puzzlement was put to rest as he explained that vengeance should belong to Harry himself.

  
  


In any case, Draco soon found himself entering the classroom mentioned with Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis not far behind him. To his amusement, he found Harry Potter sitting in a chair looking resigned and tired with a blue serpentine creature with two sets of claws wrapped around his left arm, seemingly having an aggressive discussion with the snowy owl on his right shoulder. An owl that looked significantly larger and more blue than the last time he’d seen Harry carrying her in a cage. “Good morning Potter, I noticed your owl seems to be standing out even more this morning.”

  
  


Potter sighed, took a sip of his morning tea then groaned when the small blue creature stuck its head into his cup, tasting the hot beverage before it jumped back, spilling much of the tea and making angry hissing noises. Harry glared at the small creature and hissed something to it in Parseltongue, then apparently gave up on his tea cup, setting it on the nearby table.

  
  


“ I was able to visit my Family’s ancestral home for the first time over the weekend. It was mostly rubble, but after looking around I dug out a small laboratory under the foundation. Someone was working on magic to empower familiars, but most of the notes were ruined. And  _ someone _ ,” Potter paused to glare at his familiar. “got into the only remaining sample before I could find a reliable potion master to have it analyzed. Hedwig is lucky her heart didn’t explode or turn into a mouse.”

  
  


Potter again gave his owl a look which she returned with an expression that, if present on a human, Draco would assume she knew exactly what she did and had not one regret. At that point, he took a closer look around the room. Granger, Longbottom, and Susan Bones were all present, looking at various creatures.

  
  


Granger was cooing at a pink kitten with glowing yellow eyes and strange blue runes glowing in its fur. Neville was examining a white bear cub, and Susan Bones was peering into an enclosure that contained two other serpentine forms coiling in the air, one gold and the other green. Draco’s eyes locked with the green creature and he felt  _ something _ . The Malfoy heir had a sudden vision of himself astride a much larger creature, flying high in the air.

  
  


A few moments later, the Headmaster came in and began to speak. “For those of you considering a magical familiar, Hogwarts is willing to provide one in exchange for some service around the castle. Not only physical work, there’s a lot to do around here. For example, Dumbledore left the school’s finances in something of a mess, and if _someone_ were to help straighten them out, that would be enormously helpful.” Here, the Headmaster glanced at Daphne Greengrass.

  
  


(Apparently  Headmaster  Salonar had heard the rumors that Cyrus Greengrass, Daphne’s father and current head of Greengrass Imports and Exports wanted to retire from the family business so had been teaching his daughter everything she would need to know to take his place. Draco had heard a lot of supposed reasons why the man was grooming his daughter to head the company after she graduated Hogwarts, but the most reasonable seemed to be a curse of some kind that would cause less trouble in a warmer climate.)

  
  


“ But back to topic: there’s a number of different spells to truly bond with a familiar, but I’ve discarded most of them as being the kind of magic that would spoil the partnership. Mr. Potter was kind enough to volunteer to test the ritual I selected early this morning. How is it going so far?”

  
  


All eyes turned to Harry once again, and the teen sighed, giving up for the moment his attempt to convince the two creatures resting on him to get along. “The little guy is pulling at my magic, like you expected. It started out tiny, I really didn’t even notice it. But it built up and now it’s like maintaining a Patronus, not the initial cast, just the power level needed to keep one around. Then somehow Hedwig started doing it too, I think the blue guy told her how when I was out of the room.”

  
  


Getting incredulous looks, Harry sighed again. “Look, the ritual used on the Cloud Serpent allows for him to gain intelligence and magic from me, as well as sharing minor traits over time. Whatever bond I have with Hedwig was something I did with accidental magic. She’s certainly the smartest owl around, Merlin knows what she’s going to be able to do with what she’s consumed and now draining a small percentage of my magic.”

  
  


Daphne Greengrass, always hungry for useful facts, asked Harry a question directly. “How much magic do you have if whatever they’re taking is ‘a small percentage?’”

  
  


In turn, Harry just chuckled for a moment. “I really have no idea. Between the Battle Before Breakfast and getting a reliable healer to work on me, I can just say that I’m significantly stronger than I was this time last week.”

  
  


From there conversation continued for a time as Daphne worked out a tentative agreement for a familiar in exchange for a year’s worth of part-time work with the school’s finances, assuming the Headmaster obtained a magical creature that ‘fit’ her. (To be fair, her family import and export business was much more complicated than Hogwarts, and her father had been preparing her for years to take over after Hogwarts. Cyrus Greengrass had dreams of retiring to the family’s vacation home on a small tropical island.)

  
  


Neville agreed to help out with growing some magical plants that would be sold on his own time, Hermione and Tracy Davis agreed to work after school on various projects just as Harry had. And Draco himself agreed to trade his first three useful projects in the Blacksmithing Class for the tiny green dragon now wrapped around his arm.

  
  


Draco might have mocked Neville’s new companion but he had overheard it was a magical bear with no specific abilities; simply being more durable, capable of surviving on less food, and its body being stronger than  should be physically possible . Headmaster Salonar expected its bond with Neville would likely guide the development of ‘something interesting.’ Tracey and Daphne decided to wait for the next batch of creatures to come in, the Headmaster apparently had some species in mind that would better match the two girls, but he needed to get into contact with a trapper in a distant land first.

  
  


The ritual was simple magic, and despite the initial objections of Susan and Neville, not at all ‘Dark.’ Draco had snickered when the Headmaster had grumbled that he knew the topic for next week’s Monday lesson. After performing the ritual, Draco could feel the pull from his new familiar, tugging at his magic to establish and order its own. It was a cute little guy, friendly and playful, but also eager to cause trouble wherever it could. In addition to the bond, the Headmaster had woven a complex series of spells to cause the animals to obey, with the warning that the spell would fade as the animals gained intelligence, and they would need to establish a partnership to truly succeed.

  
  


Breakfast had been entertaining. Draco truly enjoyed the attention and found himself chuckling at Potter’s attempts to keep the peace between his two familiars. He and the rest of the Great Hall were entirely bemused at watching the snowy owl, halfway through the morning meal, achieve complete dominance over the creature that was supposedly the ‘kin of dragons.’ Headmaster Salonar gave an announcement that the new creatures were to be allowed in every class save potions, (for obvious reasons) so long as they were kept from being a disruption. As he carefully kept little Veridius from consuming every sweet thing he could get his surprisingly nimble claws on, Draco smiled as he thought of the future. His thought drifted again to soaring through the clouds, astride his new friend.

  
  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Harry was looking forward to this class. He had left Hedwig and his new Cloud Serpent familiar (He wasn’t sure of a name yet, so he was taking some to consider one.) behind in the Chamber of Secrets, with the logic that loud noises wouldn’t be fun for the creatures. Rolling his shoulders, Harry shifted his book bag when it put weight on a sore spot. As they waited, Harry's thoughts shifted to the blade and shield Senastrasz had forged, and like many other students, let his mind drift to what _he_ would eventually craft.

  
  


Harry had ‘enjoyed’ a multi-hour sparring session again the day previous, so felt rather familiar with the sword and shield, or rather the replicas the Room of Requirement created to facilitate his butt getting kicked into the ground. To be honest, Harry might complain, but he found he was _learning_ so much more than in normal defense classes. Especially this year, as apparently Fudge had spoken to the Auror in charge of teaching the classes with Umbridge on a goose chase, and the students found themselves learning nothing once more.

  
  


(While Headmaster Aurogos wanted to step in and force the Ministry’s pawns to actually teach, it was not yet time to make an enemy of the Ministry. When Hogwarts castle’s wards were fully tuned and improved, along with a guardian construct or two tied into the wardstones, almost nothing on Earth would be able to penetrate them, but this was still a work in progress. On the plus side, the current standard of teaching would no doubt swell Harry Potter’s defense club.)

  
  


The best part of the class yesterday had been Nymphadora Tonks attempting to get the Senior Auror to do _something_ other than have them read a badly-written textbook. Her fluctuating hair colors by the end of class had suggested the Auror had best watch his back in the near future.

  
  


But as Harry dodged blasts of flame, thrown from a _sword_ of all things, the blunted blade itself, the shield, (Harry had been knocked flat on his back more than once from a solid hit from that damn shield.) and various limbs, he had _improved._ Senastrasz admitted he was holding back a little less each session, but told Harry directly he had a long way to go.

  
  


(Harry was dreading next weekend. Senastrasz had warned Harry that a large part of surviving many battles was the ability to fight while wounded, to not let pain cloud your mind and slow your strikes. Harry’s oathsworn had honestly said he didn’t really want to teach him that lesson, but worried that Harry might not live through the coming war without it. In the end however, Harry trusted his sworn as they trusted him and arranged a time for the two of them to be alone at Potter Estate.)

  
  


Luckily, most of the various small injuries accrued had been healed under the soothing, penetrating heat of Dalistraza’s healing magic. Harry honestly thought that was what healing magic should feel like.

  
  


After his sparring session and subsequent healing session, last night had been his first private lesson with Professor McGonagall. Though it had involved much less pain, Harry found himself again learning better from the more hands-on nature of the instruction.

  
  


When Harry mentioned it as he fell into bed that night, exhausted again but looking forward to a full night’s rest, Hermione suggested he was a ‘kinesthetic’ learner, meaning he learned better by doing than anything else. When Harry had mentioned the oddness of sleeping next to Hermione, not that he minded, Alira had explained that Harry apparently had a connection to Voldemort and Hermione had been helping to protect his sleeping mind.

  
  


Now Harry was standing with Hermione, Neville, (Whose spellwork had vastly improved with a new wand) and all four Weasleys at Hogwarts, waiting in the hall outside the classroom for the smithing class.

  
  


(Molly had blessedly gone home, though when she had pried into his affairs Harry had bluntly stated that he saw no reason to give her that level of trust. She had, after all, hosted him at her house and seen _nothing_ wrong with what Dumbledore had done to him. When she broke down in tears Harry had left the room, having no desire to deal with a woman crying over the truth. Especially when he was half certain the tears were an attempt to manipulate him.)

  
  


Harry knew the room beyond the door was a mix of old and new. Hogwarts had once had a forge, but it had been abandoned for a very long time. Senastrasz had spent many hours there, in a wing of the castle far isolated from the rest of the school preparing it for today. With a loud creak, the large doors opened, and the students began to enter the room. Looking around, Harry took note of the glass ceiling that let in a great deal of  sun light, tables with benches stacked to one side, and, of course, the actual smithy itself. There were ten anvils clustered around what could only be a massive forge, and another thirty anvils centered around ten smaller forges. For now, only one of the small forges was hot, suggesting that this would not be a ‘hands-on’ day.

  
  


Walking into the room, Professor ‘Senas Lothar’ made an imposing figure in his crimson robes with the Hogwarts insignia proudly displayed on the chest. Waving the class into the room and forward, he stood in front of the main forge as fully half the students of Hogwarts filed in. When everyone had gathered, Senas addressed them.

  
  


“ Welcome to the first class in Magical Blacksmithing that Hogwarts has taught in eight-hundred years! While I am glad to see so many of you interested in this class, the simple truth is that we don’t have enough instructors yet to teach all of you. Luckily, I expect many of you to not continue this class. Blacksmithing is hard work, the kind of toil that not everyone has the stomach for. While there are other methods for creating magical metal-craft, the one I know and will be teaching uses your strength of arm to shape the metal as your magic imbues the metal with every strike of your hammer.

  
  


“ What this means, is that everyone who takes this class will develop impressive upper body strength by the time they craft their first useful item. While there are ways of making the work easier with magic, those methods will interfere with beating magic into the metal. We’re going to start working with simple iron next week if possible, the Headmaster is attempting to purchase a large order of simple iron ingots. We’re starting simple because iron is cheap, and you’ll be forging it a number of times before you get something useful. When you master iron, you’ll move to steel, and from there more interesting metals.

  
  


“Those who stay will also be learning a great deal about the metals themselves, the history of how they were forged and their physical properties. Now, injuries are to be expected for learners, so any time we have the forges hot we’re also going to have at least one healer present. If you want to screw around or be careless, _**do it elsewhere.**_ I _**will not**_ allow you to endanger yourself or others in this room. Any attempts to harm another student will result in expulsion or worse.

  
  


“ Now, let’s start off with an extensive safety lecture and then we’ll get into the very basics of smelting iron ore into useful metal.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Three hours later, students were filing out of the new classroom. This was taking a while, due to the unusually high number of students. Harry Potter looked at his friends gathered around him and attempted to start a conversation as they waited. “Well, that was certainly a very extensive safety lecture. I’m not sure if the demonstration involving molten iron and a goat’s leg was necessary, but I think he got the point across. This is _not_ going to be like one of Snape’s classes where he lets some students sabotage others.”

  
  


An unexpected voice cut in then. Harry had seen Draco Malfoy nearby, waiting for the mass of students to clear the room. Situational awareness had been part of his recent training; taught by getting blindsided by another dragon while sparring with Senastrasz. After the second time Harry found himself bruised on the ground after being knocked ass over teakettle by a Black drake that was shockingly stealthy* when he wanted to be, Harry _really_ started to pay attention.

  
  


He was helped by the fact that he no longer needed his glasses; the effects of a treatment of Valistraza’s life-fire had finished the job Dali had begun in the Chamber of Secrets a week ago. Emma Granger had joined them under the flames, hoping to deal with a number of old injuries caused by a car accident in her twenties.

  
  


(Standing naked with his godfather and Hermione’s mother in the early morning air had been horribly awkward, but had turned out to be worth it for all three. Much of the damage Sirius had accrued in Azkaban had washed away, Emma’s back no longer ached, and Harry could  _ see _ . Harry still wore his glasses, very glad that he had paid for the self-correcting enchantment as they were simply a fashion statement and sunglasses now.)

  
  


In any case Harry’s group assumed that Draco would be used to gather information on both Harry and the new Headmaster. In turn, Harry and his friends had noticed that Draco had been severely shaken by the events of last week, so they had decided to give the oft-annoying blond a chance to join their side if he proved worthy of it. So, there was a bit of a game coming where they would manipulate Draco while the Malfoy heir attempted to manipulate Harry in return. Heh, there _was_ a reason the Sorting had tried to place him into Slytherin after all, now seemed like a good time to bring those traits to the fore.

  
  


So Harry fixed a confident, friendly smile on his face as Draco stepped up and began to speak. “Thank Merlin for that! After a few lessons with Professor Tonks I can see how easily that could have gone wrong for _everyone_ in the room. I don’t know about anyone else, but I have no desire for scars from some magic metal sloshing onto me. I doubt I could pull it off as well as Moody does.”

  
  


Chuckling, Harry looked right at Draco. The boy was acting much less pompous than usual, and had left his normal book-ends behind for this conversation. “I doubt it’s just the magical metals we’ll need to be wary of. Professor Lothar said we’d be working and re-working the iron as we learned to imbue magic into it. I wonder how many hammer strikes it will be before we’re working with magic iron instead of mundane?”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


It was surprising how natural friendly conversation with Draco seemed, Harry reflected later as he descended into the Chamber of Secrets. As he walked into the Chamber proper, it was amusing to see whelps scattered here and there, tending the planters full of the easiest to grow herbs from Azeroth. Some of them were terribly clumsy, but that was expected. It was rather funny as he watched, unnoticed for a moment, as the Green whelps tried to teach the others how to grow things.

  
  


At a whistle both of his familiars flew to him, to his continuing amusement he saw the Cloud Serpent deferring to Hedwig. Scratching first Hedwig and then the young Cloud Serpent, Harry started speaking to his new familiar. “I’ve decided on a name for you, young one. I don’t know if you can understand me yet, but there’s a culture who have myths of dragons that look a lot like you. So I’m giving you the name Lanju, which means ‘the blue hurricane’ in their tongue if I’ve translated it right. You like that?”

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


For a time, Harry just stood in the warm sunlight, enjoying spending the time bonding with his familiars. It was oddly calm in the Chamber of Secrets just now. Hermione and the Weasley siblings were in the castle above, interacting with the other students, and he knew some of the drakes had taken a portal to Potter Estate before breakfast. Hermione in particular was spending some time with her dorm mates, among other things attempting to get them to not call attention to the fact that she hadn’t slept in her bed in Gryffindor tower since the night before the Battle Before Breakfast. In fact, every other human associated with the Potter Dragonflight was either back at the Potter Estate grounds or socializing above in the castle.

  
  


Harry’s drakes were busy as well; in particular Alira, Bavaku, Dalistraza, Senastrasz and Stine had traveled through the portal to Azeroth, intent on both teaching the Nether drake to fly (After the last attempt Harry had seen, a decision had been reached. Instead of casting cushioning charms on the area around Bavaku, the poor drake would simply be coated in them.) and collecting jungle fauna to offer as familiars. During their hunt on Monday, the Red siblings had discovered a nest of ‘raptors’ in the jungle, as well as several nursing panthers and tigers. While the raptors could be taken at any time, the felines would be monitored carefully until their cubs were ready to be weaned.

  
  


Also, apparently Aurogos had arranged through Senegos for the purchase of creatures called Talbuk, similar to elk but generally more robust. Talbuk tended to have more meat on their frames, breed faster, and were generally hardier than most similar creatures. In a few days Harry would be taking delivery of the herd inside an expanded trunk, with most of the creatures to be turned loose on Black Island. Stine continued to be very vague about the importance of that island, so Harry simply trusted his oathsworn.

  
  


While one male and one female Talbuk would be kept at Potter Estate, the rest were going to be entrusted to a house elf ordered not to tell them anything about the island. Speaking of herds, Remus’s mission in North America had expanded slightly given some discussion between the Potter Dragonflight and Sirius. It turned out that some areas on that continent had too many deer, to the point where the creatures often caused car accidents and were just generally pests; though not for much longer.

  
  


It had taken the entire research team several hours, but soon Remus would be in possession of three trunks, each much larger inside with grass, sunlight and fresh water along with a runestone that would lure every deer or elk within a mile to its location. At a suggestion from Dan Granger, these items would be delivered by a muggle delivery service to Remus’s hotel room, shrunken inside a computer hard drive.

  
  


Harry wasn’t sure if Remus had found what he was searching for or not, apparently the scruffy man was being very tight-lipped. Sirius was more than a little unhappy with his old friend’s attitude, but apparently still believed Remus Lupin would come through for them. Harry simply made sure the werewolf didn’t know anything that could harm them if he was careless. (Harry had not forgotten the loss of Pettigrew when Remus had forgotten both his potion and that there was a full moon outside that night.)

  
  


In any case when they arrived, the deer and possibly elk would have their parasites and any injuries treated before they joined the Potter Dragonflight’s breeding program. Some females would get sent to Black Island herd with fertility magic woven on them to ensure they crossbred with the Talbuk. (Though, it was really anyone’s guess as to whether or not that was necessary at all. Magic did strange things to fertility science, and if the Talbuk had not been a magical species originally, they were now.) The Potter Dragonflight were hoping the large creatures would thrive on Earth as they had on the other three worlds they were entrenched upon.

  
  


(Talbuk had originated on Argus, and some were taken when the Draenei fled that world. Great Herds had once roamed Draenor, the creatures had thrived when the Draenei settled on that world. And when the Dark Portal was reopened several years ago and the shattered continent of Outland was swarmed by adventurers, several dragons had joined the explorers. They had found the creatures delicious, so a fair number of Talbuk found themselves shoved through portals to isolated islands where they thrived.)

  
  


Speaking of animal husbandry outlawed by the Ministry of Magic, several individuals were curious of the results of crossing Earth’s magical species with foreign creatures. Buckbeak the hippogryph, who had settled in at Potter Estate and promptly began ridding the grounds of rabbits and moles, had been volunteered for their first attempt. If he consented, the hippogryph would be asked to impregnate the female Talbuk they were keeping at the Estate.

  
  


No one was quite sure what the resulting calf (Fawn? Foal? Chick? The nomenclature was unclear for the proper name for  the potential hybrid.) would look like, but they were eager to learn. When possible, the group intended to acquire a female hippogryph from Azeroth as well, but there were no wild ones near the portal.

  
  


Smiling as one of the clumsier whelps knocked over a small planter, spilling dirt everywhere, Harry simply took out his wand and cast the earth manipulation spell introduced on Monday. While Harry hadn’t achieved nearly as much power with it as with the lightning spell, all the spells were useful. Both the water and ice spells continued to elude him sadly. Most of the young dragons had been distracted by their various tasks, but when he returned the dirt to the planter, righting it in the process he found himself being greeted by nearly every whelp.

  
  


For the most part they all looked markedly healthier than when they’d first come out of the stasis sphere. Real sunlight, (Actually taken from a different location: some large buildings near the equator might never discover _why_ their air conditioning bills suddenly dropped, but that light was doing much more good here.) proper food, and the scale treatments had them looking and feeling much better. Sadly, many of the purple Chromatic whelps were markedly lethargic compared to the others.

  
  


As one of the Red whelps began to chide a Chromatic that simply wanted to lay out in the sunlight, Harry stepped over and tapped the Red on its snout with a finger.  _ Ƥ: “Enough. If she’s not feeling well just let her rest, there’s a lot to do but your health is more important.” _

  
  


Properly chastised, the Red ducked his head slightly and got back to using his natural powers to help grow a plant that seemed to be nothing but golden thorns. Looking around he found his attention drawn to a number of interesting trees. Taking a closer look, Harry decided that the three sets of nine different kinds of trees growing each in a separate pot must be an experiment mentioned just after Harry’s dragons grew the first set of wands. Essentially, the wands that hadn’t turned out good enough to wield could be planted and encouraged to grow into new trees that would absorb the wand cores; a benefit of using living wood.

  
  


Though not especially talented with herbology, Harry walked around the small trees and examined them with his eyes and his slowly improving ability to sense magic. It was fairly easy to guess which tree had a piece of what kind of dragon.

  
  


The tree with a Red core looked similar to the one planted at his family’s ruined home, but had gained striations of crimson swirling in the bark; it _felt_ even more alive than it’s parent. The Bronze tree seemed frozen in time, the wand from which it had been made had sprouted leaves, but done nothing else. Sparks of electricity crackled along the trunk and leaves of the tree grown around a Storm core, while the Green tree seemed to induce a restful sleep, if the growing pile of unconscious gardening whelps was any indication.

  
  


Harry was briefly stumped when he took a look at the tree bearing a black trunk and dark orange leaves with a core obviously given by Talion. _Is the tree… conjuring dirt? That’s odd even for a magical plant._ He thought as he saw the pile of dirt apparently overflowing the pot. The tree that seemed rather transparent was obviously grown from a wand containing a sample gifted by a Nether whelp; when Harry flipped a coin through the trunk he confirmed the tree had gained that Dragonflight’s ability to phase out of the material plane. Changing it to a larger pot might be difficult. An azure sapling was seemingly some species of pine, and other than obviously radiating cold from it’s needles, Harry had no idea about the properties involved.

  
  


A purple, twisted sapling had been grown from a Chromatic sample. It bore five trunks curving randomly, each a different shade of purple, but none looked healthy.

  
  


Grown from a failed Twilight core wand, the last was probably the most interesting;  the tree’s bark was blue, the shade of old glacial ice  with dark purple leaves. But what was really interesting about this sapling was how it was radiating magic, and not in the way in which the parent tree rooted at his family’s ancestral home was. This tree was not absorbing magic and then radiating out just a little bit more as it took in sunlight, it was simply out-putting magic and not a tiny trickle either. This… if there were no downsides, this could be an extremely powerful tool for the Potter Dragonflight going forward.

  
  


Moving on, and carefully using his wand to slide the growing pile of whelps away from the Green tree (And that reminded Harry that the new trees would need names. It… It might be a good idea to invite Neville soon, one thing he’d learned about the dragons under his care was that they were awful _a_ t naming things; every name their species came up with seemed to include _at least_ one reference to dragons. For example: **Wyrm** rest Temple on the **Dragon** blight, or **Wyrm** scar Island.) Harry walked until he came to Valistraza reclining in the sun, watching carefully over the whelps.

  
  


While she had already gained a good deal of weight and looked healthier for it, as Harry looked at her face he noticed she looked very tired and stressed. Stepping up to her, he asked if he could sit with her for a while. In response, she simply adjusted her wing, making a space for Harry to lay down against her side. With a smile he sat against her, recalling the memory of sleeping next to Caliona the second night she spent on Earth. He enjoyed the quiet companionship for a moment before speaking to her in Darnassian.

  
  


“ The whelps seem to be doing much better, though the Chromatic don’t seem to have much energy. I know you and the others are doing your best to help them, but please let me know if there’s something you need in order to help them.”

  
  


Harry felt Valistraza let out a deep sigh. “I really don’t know what could be useful other than all the original notes on their creation, but most of those have been ash for years. And what isn’t ash, was probably used to shape the Twilight Dragonflight.”

  
  


Turning to look Harry directly in the eyes, her very large head came close enough that he could feel her warm breath, she continued. “ _Don’t_ try the method you used to save Bavaku on them. It’s a completely different problem: where Bavaku had a metaphysical defect that you perceived as a ‘tear,’ these whelps have a problem of their essence, their magic being unbalanced.

  
  


“ More than anything else, their problem is a lack of stability, of too much having been forced into them. The longer they live, the better their chances of reaching stability on their own. But, I really don’t know how to help them. Every style of healing I know of would do nothing to help them, and several would do harm.”

  
  


After a moment of thought, Harry responded. “For now, we’ll just keep an eye on them. If needed, we can put them back into stasis until we find a way to heal them. I’ll ask Senegos’s people for a good stasis device, Aurogos is too busy running the school and preparing to expand and ward Potter Estate this weekend. If there’s no  other way to save your Chromatic charges, we do have a Bronze drake. If I’m already on the Bronze Dragonflight’s shitlist there’s no sense  _ not  _ helping ourselves to anything that might help these little ones.”

  
  


Seeing no need to wait, Harry pulled out his mirror and called Stellagosa. After explaining the problem to her, she agreed to include a ‘medical grade’ stasis device in the package containing the Talbuk herd. Further, she would speak to her grandfather and search the archives for anything that might help the Chromatic dragons in his care. Harry thanked her profusely before she signed off.

  
  


Harry just relaxed for a time then. Vali just seemed to exude a comforting aura, and he found himself nearly nodding off. Earlier he had taken his first Ancient Runes class and was trying to work through the material as quickly as possible; it felt odd sitting with third years, but it was worth it to trade Trelawney for Professor Babbling. He truly regretted not taking the class from his third year onwards, but was glad to start catching up. Eventually, he spoke again.

  
  


“ And how are you doing Vali? Even I can tell you’re stressed and haven’t been sleeping well.” With a smirk, Harry continued in a teasing tone. “Consider yourself ordered to take care of yourself; if you’re tired, rest. I need to study for my new Rune class, so just close your eyes and I’ll keep an eye on the whelps for now.”

  
  


With a rumbling chuckle that vibrated through Harry as he relaxed there, the Broodmother responded. “I’ve been worried about my Chromatic charges, but your idea isn’t a bad one. I didn’t think there was anything we could do to save Bavaku, but you proved me wrong, so I’ll just trust you with them as well. Thank you, my Lord.”

  
  


For the next three hours Harry simply studied, occasionally flicking his wand to keep the whelps in line or out of trouble. He did break up four separate scuffles, three of them involving the young Storm dragons. Small fights were to be expected, especially with so many different flavors of dragon mingling together. To be honest Harry might have let them wrestle a bit longer just to get the energy and aggression out of their systems, but Valistraza really seemed to need some rest.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


By the time dinner was served in the main hall, Harry had worked through five chapters of his primary rune text, the book that provided the foundation for working with the different runic scripts. A few pages into chapter six, Harry found himself nodding off. As he was reading one by one whelps had curled up next to him as he studied, and slowly he found himself buried. Gathered around himself and the Broodmother, almost all of the seventy-seven whelps were sleeping soundly; only a few Reds were still out tending the various plants now gracing the Chamber.

  
  


When Valistraza woke with her stomach telling her it was time to eat she was amused to find that her prospective lord had fallen asleep, buried in whelps. Then again, as she did a quick head count she noticed five of the eight Black whelps curled up close to Harry.

  
  


There was a reason the Broodmother liked sleeping next to Talion. Black dragons were creatures of earth, of volcanism, and it showed in their physiology, especially the amounts of heat they exuded when resting. Even when his mind had been enthralled by evil, Valistraza had not been able to resist the temptation to sleep near Talion with the rest of Tendrion’s group.

  
  


Yesterday Talion had taken the Black whelps into the Room of Requirement and together they had enjoyed playing around a conjured magma vent. Several hours later they had returned smelling of brimstone and brimming with energy. As Valistraza added that tidbit to her notes, she had made a mental note to make that a weekly event.

  
  


With a few quiet words to Winky, the Broodmother’s house elf pushed their dinner back for a time. With a smile on her face, she settled back down to take advantage of this quiet time while she could.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


At eight o’clock various people began drifting into the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione, escorted by the Headmaster was the first, having convinced the rest of her dorm to not call attention to her absence. If asked, they had agreed to spread the partial truth that she was getting treatment for what Dumbledore had done to her mind.

  
  


Hermione had also spent time discussing the plan for the first meeting of the Defense Association on Friday afternoon. Many students had shown an interest, the Battle Before Breakfast driving home the importance of being able to protect themselves. The basic plan was to meet Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings, possibly with an additional meeting during the week.

  
  


Sadly, despite seeing a demonstration of Harry’s valor during the recent ousting of Albus Dumbledore, many of the students continued to believe the lies originating from the Daily Prophet and Ministry. Well Hermione had a plan for that: if Harry consented, they would show his memories after Andromeda Tonks swore that the memories had been verified by two mind-healers. (While Alira was not a Ministry approved healer, her natural abilities and past studies made her more than deserving of the title in Hermione’s opinion.)

  
  


When the teenager, accompanied by Aurogos who had returned to his native form as he caught up to Hermione as she waited in the Fidelius Charmed space, reached the main hall of the Chamber of Secrets, both stopped and took in the scene. 

  
  


In addition to the dragons, Harry’s familiars had decided to not be left out, so Hedwig was roosting on Harry’s left shoulder and Lanju had burrowed between the whelps, only his head visible and resting on a Nether whelp that was keeping Harry’s chin warm. Not much of Harry could actually be seen, only his face visible under the kaleidoscope of small dragons. Needless to say, Hermione quickly asked Dobby to fetch her a camera and preserved the peaceful moment for posterity.

  
  


Sadly, the restful time ended shortly after Hermione took what would become a truly cute moving photo. In a chain reaction, first one whelp was woken by the camera, and his movements woke another. This continued, and woke Lanju, who woke with a jerk, sadly constricting Harry’s neck. Harry then woke flailing in a panic, flinging whelps hither and yon as he bolted to his feet.

  
  


Very quickly everyone was awake. Several whelps had small bumps, but nothing worse than the light ring of purple around Harry’s neck. By the time the drakes returned from Azeroth, leaving and returning to the cave containing the Azeroth side of the portal via portkey to avoid bringing attention to the Fidelius Charm, Harry had apologized to the small dragons and instructed Lanju not to curl around his neck again.

  
  


Aurogos’s dragonsworn, Jason, Naomi, and Sarah joined the group walking through the conjured door from the Room of Requirement. As a security precaution, Headmaster Aurogos had changed the halls of Hogwarts to block off the hallway containing the door and added a secret passage that allowed access to the area only to those who carried a specially enchanted object.

  
  


As several house elves began popping in tables and moving the various potted plants against the walls and out of way, the drakes revealed their haul which consisted of a dozen young raptors and eleven cubs that were ready to be weaned. (Their research had shown that the familiar ritual they were using on the animals (That which granted them useful magic and intelligence in exchange for the companionship and small benefits given to a human magical.) produced the most benefits and least stress if used on young creatures.)

  
  


Thankfully, the six tiger and five panther cubs had long been eating meat from their mother’s kills. According to the drakes the raptors from Azeroth were fine eating both meat and certain jungle fruit, proving more omnivorous than most people expected. In fact, the drakes had brought back a pile of those fruits, and a number of others to be grown on Earth. Checks by both Dalistraza and the Room of Requirement proved all the animals were healthy, though some parasites had been removed with magic and burned.

  
  


As they began to eat, (Those who had already eaten with the other students simply nibbling on the exotic fruit while saving the seeds.) Aurogos explained how the castle’s elves had been improving food production at Hogwarts. Where before the farming methods had been hundreds of years out of date, now the school’s farm was adding a technique called Aquaculture, making use of large ponds teeming with insects and fish. Similar to the new mundane method, water containing fish waste moved from the ponds, passed through a filter of small rocks to break down the fish waste into nutrients before the water was used to fertilize both fruit and vegetables.

  
  


In the magical method, however, using expanded space and a slight re-shaping of the sealed agriculture wing, no water was directly returned to the ponds. Instead, the enormous spaces would be kept warm all year by heating runes under the ponds and crops, and fresh water from the Black Lake would simply be pumped in until the condensation on the stone walls feeding back into the ponds proved sufficient to keep the m full.

  
  


(Various classes of Ancient Runes had been, and would continue to be, very busy carving massive numbers of small rune stones that would heat an area to a certain temperature and turn off until the area cooled. Out of all the rune languages available to the Potter Dragonflight, Old Norse had contained the most efficient technique to create warmth. Azeroth’s Dwarven and Draconic both had functional alternatives, but required a wasteful amount of ambient magic in comparison.

  
  


When the students were told that the small runic devices they were carving would be placed all over the castle, including the Great Hall, Common Rooms, and dormitories, they were very eager to bring a little less chill to the castle. These stones would be installed gradually, placed into the castle’s stones as Aurogos and those with him swept the castle for dark magic. As each area of the castle was pronounced clean, the house elves would add insulation and sealing materials to the castle; there was no reason a castle in the 21st century had to be _drafty,_ after all _._

  
  


There was a significant pile of unpleasant items already waiting for destruction, pulled from the Room of Lost Things. Sadly, at the moment the three Twilight drakes were ‘full’ and consuming more magic with their breath could prove dangerous.)

  
  


So far, the elves reported that the  adding the Aquaculture facility was expected to increase both the quality and the quantity of food provided to the castle significantly. There would also be markedly less work involved. As Headmaster, Aurogos had ordered the elves to take time every week to spend how they wished. If they wanted to find somewhere in the castle to clean, they could. If they wanted to sleep, they could. If they wanted to learn to read, they could. Oddly, by treating the castle’s elves as people (Strange people, yes, bust still people.) Aurogos had already become one of their all-time favorite Headmasters.

  
  


While it was odd sharing the table with so many non-human creatures, none of those present seemed to mind much at all. Harry was sitting next to Hermione, the two of them discussing the mechanics needed to share excess magic around the dragons. Hermione had been astounded by the actual math of how much more powerful a Dragon Aspect was than a normal member of their race, and after hearing the things that power could be used for had applied herself to helping make it possible. The problem, of course, was that those gathered around the table were neither Titans nor gods.

  
  


“ Harry, I just don’t see how we’re going to get enough magic to ‘spark’ the transition. I agree with Tendrion’s notes that a slower addition of power would require less energy that doing it all at once, but we simply don’t have the kind of power needed.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


This was something Harry had been thinking about, on and off for days now. After the adventure that had been saving Bavaku, Harry had gone back through the Room of Requirement and asked for a working ‘Big Book of Villain Lines.’ He quickly had a name for the creature who had helped him save his young oathsworn. As he learned of her story thanks to the copy of the Red Dragonflight’s archive, (A translated version available in the Room thanks to Aurogos.) it raised his anger and pity that Keristraza had been treated so horribly, and not just by the Blue Dragonflight.

  
  


Keristraza had been captured by the Blue Dragon f light during the Nexus war when their insane leader Malygos had started a war he could never win. She had been tortured by Saragosa, the same wyrm that had sent Aurogos fleeing across the ocean to study under Senegos. Once freed, the dragon worked with a human paladin to slay Saragosa and lay an ambush for Malygos, the corpse of his consort, the bait.  _ Who in the hell thought that confrontation was going to lead to victory? It would be like leading a handful of children and teachers against Voldemort! _

  
  


Suffice it to say, the ambush had not gone well. Malygos had decreed that since Keristraza had killed his consort, she would take her place and captured her, ignoring the efforts of the other Red Dragons. Inside the Nexus, she had been chained, runes, carved into her flesh, and magic poured into her until she was neither a Red or a Blue but something in between. Finally, and what had sealed her fate as far as the Red dragon commanding the offensive was concerned, she had been impregnated against her will.

  
  


If they had chosen to save her, they could have. Taking her alive would not have been easy, but a few mature Red dragons or wyrms joining the Alliance mercenaries hired to sweep the main level of the Nexus would have been sufficient. The runes could have been removed and magic soothed away as well; the works of one Aspect washed away by the careful, loving attentions of another. Healing her would not have been  _ easy _ , but it could have been done. But no, Raelorasza, the wyrm in command ordered her death after a scrying spell they were using to plan a rescue confirmed she was pregnant.

  
  


Of course, they hadn’t told the mortals that was the reason she had to die. The report taken from the Red Dragonflight’s archive explained that while deceiving those who dealt honorably with dragons was frowned upon, Raelorasza felt there was a significant chance of the paladin calling in favors to save Keristraza if he knew. When Harry had finished that report he had his first burst of accidental magic since inflating Marge, thankfully alone in the Room of Requirement.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


“ I’ve had something of an idea, Hermione. Or several that could be joined together, the last I’ll discuss later in private. For now, Aurogos, Dalistraza, I have a question.” Harry waited a moment until he had the attention of both drakes before continuing.

  
  


“ I admit I am not an expert on this subject, but we, humans and dragons both store magic in our bodies, correct? The magic that is available for us to use at any given point, right?”

  
  


Not sure where his Lord was going at this point, Aurogos nodded his draconic head. “Yes, it usually replenishes rather quickly, but the time to replenish from nearly empty to full increases the more powerful one is generally. Part of that depends on how much magic is latent in the air and if water is consumed.”

  
  


Taking a deep breath, fairly sure that he was about to either look foolish in front of his drakes or share an important idea, Harry continued. “Okay. Hypothetically speaking, if a magic effect was used to siphon off one percent of that available magic, if every time the wizard or dragon reached more than ninety-nine percent of their capacity it was taken away, how would that affect them?”

  
  


Both addressed dragons had to think for a moment before replying, but this conversation had the attention of the entire room. Or at least those who spoke English. Dalistraza answered first. “My Lord, I don’t think that would cause any harm, other than having less magic available to use. Aurogos?”

  
  


Several moments later the Blue drake’s eyes opened, having closed them while he thought. “I think… such an effect would be an incredible passive method of increasing one’s magic capacity. Especially for anyone who was still growing. If I remember correctly, it is the act of refilling one’s magic reserves that cause them to expand. This wouldn’t cause one’s reserves to grow as fast as casting until exhaustion, but it would be safer. Hell, it could continue even when we sleep!”

  
  


Everyone listening was now on the edge of their seats. A brief flash of confusion flashed across the Blue’s face. “The magic taken wouldn’t be much at first, though as one’s magic increased the amounts would grow, but what would…” Here, the Blue paused, his eyes going wide as he stared at his Lord.

  
  


Instead of answering him immediately, Harry pointed with a finger to first Valistraza, then Ralion, then Aurogos, then Talion, and finally Bavaku. “The order isn’t final. My reasoning is that life magic might be a counter to the killing curse, and we have a war coming. Ralion is next for his Twilight Flames, though my friend you’re getting counseling before you gain this power, just to help you deal with what life’s thrown at you.

  
  


“ You are next Aurogos, because I want this school to be safe, no matter what. Talion, I know you’re a long way from maturing, but I rather like the idea of raising an island or small continent for my Dragonflight. Bavaku, I’m not really sure what kind of powers you would gain, but I’d love to find out.

“Obviously, if we pull this off the first one would be the most difficult. But imagine how much less time the second, and then the third Aspect for our Dragonflight would take. By the time the first nine drakes I met finish growing into dragons, you could _all_ be Aspects _and_ _also_ be aiding the empowering of additional ones.”

  
  


For a time, no one spoke. This was a _big_ idea, especially because no one could think of a reason it would not work. Those dragons who had even been in the presence of an Aspect were stuck in a mental loop considering having nine _or more_ of the incredibly powerful beings serving one Dragonflight.

  
  


Ralion spoke into the quiet, briefly. “And you will join us my Lord. Whether or not Sirius’s friend comes through with an existing method, between all of us in this Chamber and the resources we have access to I have no doubt we can find a way to  grant one of our forms to you. Should you accept the gift of wings and scales I don’t see any reason why you  wouldn’t be able to gain an Aspect’s power as well .”

  
  


Eventually Valistraza grew impatient and spoke in Darnassian. “I apologize for not speaking your world’s tongue yet, but would someone translate what has shocked the rest of you into silence please?”

  
  


It was a rather giddy Alira who answered her. “I think our Lord has just figured out a way to empower an Aspect in years instead of centuries, and then use that Aspect to create another, and then have those two a third. Congratulations Broodmother, you’ve been tentatively chosen as the first Aspect of the Potter Dragonflight.”

  
  


Deciding to break the silence, Hermione was the first one to speak after Alira. Turning to Harry with a coy smile gracing her face, she began to tease him. “Harry, somehow I always knew our friendship would end in world domination. I’d like to apply for the position of your most loyal follower.”

  
  


With a completely serious face, Harry responded. “I thank you for your interest, but who says I’d stop at world domination? Thanks to your dad I got roped into watching an episode of ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ and it gave me _ideas._ I think Harry Potter, Intergalactic Emperor, The King of, by, and for Magic has a nice ring to it.”

  
  


Both teens stared at each other for a moment before breaking down in laughter. Harry realized that he rather needed a good laugh, as he felt lighter when he caught his breath. Harry’s mood dropped a little as he started to speak.

  
  


“ Seriously though, from what I know so far the Ministry is incredibly corrupt, what would seem to be the only source of news is pure propaganda, and the pureblood ideology is entrenched everywhere in this country. Not to mention, Voldemort suck-ups like Lucius Malfoy have enough power that Riddle nearly has control of the Ministry already. War with the Ministry of Magic is inevitable as I see it, though I would like to be wrong. But when it comes, I have no intention of  _ losing. _

  
  


“ We have some advantages. They don’t know I’m a military threat yet, for one. The more time we have until they attack Hogwarts or Potter Estate, the better we can prepare, so let’s try to keep below the radar as much as we can. Hopefully we can use the Defense Association to get most of the students on our side.”

  
  


Pausing again, Harry continued with a pensive expression. “I don’t really know what to do about Magical Britain. Doing nothing sounds like a recipe for disaster, but…

  
  


“ On another topic, I do think we should consider expanding into space. Constructing a magical space station is not a small task, but with expansion charms, our magical trees, and charms to reduce weight, it shouldn’t be impossible.

  
  


“ Once we’re established in space I’d like to establish the Potter Dragonflight on Mars. Maybe we can make the whole planet livable, if not we should be able to build some very large living spaces in structures.”

  
  


Harry stopped speaking for a moment, taking in the look on the faces around him. Vespiona had moved and was giving Valistraza and Bavaku a running translation, Hermione and the dragonsworn looked eager, and the drakes looked shocked. “I know it’s a lot of work, but when Hogwarts is secure and Potter Estate warded I want everyone that has the time working on this. I want us to have a world all our own, and one way or another we _will_. We _will_ survive, we _will_ prosper, we _will_ have a secure future.”

  
  


One by one, the dragons stepped back from the table, the meal forgotten, and bowed. Every drake, every whelp joined in as their Lord’s goal spread, even Valistraza gave a draconic bow. Aurogos’s dragonsworn, Jason Atreides, Naomi Lyon, and Sarah Summerland knelt on one knee as well, in respect for their Lord by proxy. Only partly caught up in the excitement of an ambition worthy of the Lord of a Dragonflight, Hermione knelt as well.

  
  


To himself, Harry swore an oath. _I will see my people, my family, my friends safe. I will see them prosper, no matter the cost. I can do no less for those that believe in me._

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  
  
  


* Talion is the only survivor, as far as he knows, of his clutch. His mother, after providing a first meal for her brood, abandoned them in the wilderness. For the next decade, Talion avoided being eaten by predators larger than himself, being killed by the odd mortal that ventured through the truly inhospitable desert, and being caught by the orcs that served Nefarian to be processed into _part_ of a Chromatic dragon. To survive, he learned to be very, very sneaky. As part of the drake’s ongoing process of teaching their Lord how not to die, Harry has been discovering first hand exactly _how_ sneaky.

  
  
  
  
  
  


A/N: I admit I made a small mistake when I was figuring out how many whelps were what kind of dragon a few chapters ago. Somehow I forgot the color Green. Oh well, it’ll be fixed when I update the chapter; I’m editing and improving (but not changing any plot elements) in the earlier chapters when I have the time.

  
  


A/N-2: Harry’s inner thoughts near the end of the chapter. “Yeah, I might need to go to war with/take over Magical Britain’s corrupt, evil, and stupid government, but I’m sure the rest of the world will let me be. It’s not like they’d go to war over a threat to their power when I offer their muggleborn and magical creatures equal rights and a better standard of living, right?”

  
  


A/N-3: I’m writing/planning something big to come, but I’ve found myself with an odd problem. I’m trying to figure out if an event during the Mount Hyjal war between the Twilight  Dragonflight  and  Ysera is cannon or fannon. The event is the Dragon Aspect Ysera doing battle with, and smiting the hell out of a large number of Twilight drakes. I know that the fic “Coup de What?” (and at least one other that I’ve read  _ somewhere _ ) has it, but the author can’t remember if they made it up or not.

  
  


I haven’t had a WoW subscription in years, and internet searches have been… unhelpful. (Try searching youtube for Ysera Twilight, I _dare_ you.) If anyone can remember it clearly or has a link I’d be grateful. It’s been bugging me that I can’t remember.

  
  
  



	19. Chapter 19: Origin of the Hallows

I’m afraid I haven’t had much time or muse lately. The real chapter 19 is a work in progress right now, and still needs extensive editing/rewriting. With some luck I’ll be putting it out next week, but to give my readers something, enjoy a short tale of how the Deathly Hallows came to be in the lore of Elune’s Pebble.

  
  


Chapter 19: Origin of the Hallows

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Walking the land of the living again wasn’t what he’d expected. Of course, Sildan Nighthelm had heard a great many tales about how the war he died fighting had ended. _The Sundering_ they called it. To be honest, the man who was once a loyal servant of Azshara had written off the tales as enormous exaggerations from bitter fools that had rebelled against their queen.

  
  


But now he stood on a jagged, rocky shoreline that in his youth had been an unending forest, thick with game and hidden streams. His favorite place to run and play as a child had sunk beneath the waves. And it wasn’t alone. Sildan had seen the maps when he had been given this assignment by his new ‘employer.’ _Even the heartbeat of the world is different. Before the war it was calm, relaxing to listen to, but now I can feel the world’s pain if I stretch out my senses far enough. My Queen, what did you_ **do** _to our world? What did you make_ **us** _party to?_

  
  


Sildan himself looked nothing like he once did. Tortured and twisted into a new form, a wraith bound to the torso of a suit of armor with only a ragged cloak to hide the shame of his new form. _I wonder if the new world we’re heading to will be pristine or as broken as this one is now?_

  
  


In any case, Sildan had no time to spend lost in his thoughts. For this simple mission, he was accompanied by two of the Jailer’s more powerful servants, hulking figures bound to armor covered in sharp points. _Accompanied? Guarded more like it. Even bound with magic he still doesn’t trust me to accomplish my task. Or maybe he just doesn’t want me dragging my feet?_

  
  


Here, in a cave just above the high-tide mark, was what they needed. A hidden cache of Highborne supplies from before the war, powerful artifacts that could be molded into what they needed. With hands now bound to metal gauntlets, Sildan carefully took stock of what was here.

  
  


Powerful enchantments had kept the cache hidden from anyone who didn’t already know it was there. Several powerful items called for his attention, weapons and armor forged on the very edge of the Well of Eternity and quenched within its waters. As the nameless muscle began to pile items carelessly into the open space at the center of the cave, the wraith held up his hand. “Wait! There’s more here than we need to open a portal. Give me half an hour to look through this and we can use much of it for another task.”

  
  


Sildan didn’t really think these hulking creatures were stupid, he wasn’t a fool. Both of them had simply been tortured, _broken,_ until they couldn’t even consider anything beyond unthinking obedience to the creature that ruled the Maw. _Not that I can blame them. The Master’s attentions are many things, but gentle they are_ **not** _._

  
  


Soon, the wraith had a pile of items ready to be torn apart for their magical energy. Sildan retained a single sword, its make proving vastly superior to the others. Though holding steel from a Highbourne forge in his hands once again proved bittersweet; he could not draw the weapon from its sheath thanks to a familiar enchantment that kept evil and those that served it from wielding the blade. He also kept a simple pendant that must have been an ancient gift from the Dragonqueen, as it contained a tiny lick of flame within, burning without fuel or air and radiating a sense of Life. Even contained inside the locket, the innate magic was painful for an undead creature to hold. The real prize, however, was three vials of water from the Well of Eternity.

  
  


Pouring half of a vial onto the pile of armor, the wraith that was once Sildan Nighthelm reached out to the connection that bound him to the ruler of the Maw. _It is ready Master. I await your guidance to open the doorway._

  
  


Sildan felt the crushing power of his master flood his being then. He tried, he tried so very hard not to let his disgust at the intrusion show, but the Jailer knew his thoughts and was amused. As instructed, the wraith that had been an extremely powerful sorcerer in life began weaving his spell, tearing open a door to another world. Though the Jailer’s touch sickened him, Sildan could not deny the being’s enormous power as it flowed through him and aided the construction of the portal.

  
  


After only a few moments of shaping the magic, the air tore open and a gust of air that smelled of a warm, pleasant countryside flooded the cave. Though, of course, none present were able to enjoy it. As the presence in his head receded, Sildan took command of the grunts sent with him, slipping the unused vials into his cloak. “I’ll take the sword, go through now.”

  
  


If he were to be honest with himself, Sildan loathed the being he served. At least in his many years of service to the beautiful Azshara, he had honestly believed that she wanted the best for her people. There was no such comfort with his new master. Sildan really didn’t understand exactly how the small stone and knobbed stick would serve their purpose, but he simply could not delude himself into believing their purpose was anything other than sinister.

  
  


He was now a thrall of a creature that hoarded every soul he could and that felt no shame unleashing torture upon the innocent and guilty alike until they broke and served him. _Not that I can claim to be an innocent. I might have believed in Azshara, but when she brought the demons to our world I knew the truth. I simply refused to turn my back on everything I knew. More fool I._

  
  


As the last one through the portal, Sildan heard the beat of mighty wings and an impact in the sand outside the cave, followed by footsteps in the sand. With a defiance that he had thought was long beaten out of him, he caused the enchantment hiding the cave to flicker as he moved towards the portal. Ignoring the dragon Sildan stepped through this door to another world, drifting away from the portal without warning the grunts.

  
  


_Even surprise won’t be enough unless that was an Aspect that found the portal. It was stalking this way as I stepped through though. I wonder if it knows that the portal is collapsing? Would it follow if it knows it will never see its world again? If it’s strong and clever enough it might just prevent a vast amount of suffering…_

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


As he lay bleeding and beaten in a wheat field on an entirely new world, Vordistrasz decided he’d had better days. Thankfully his last action before stepping through the portal was sending out a message, marking his location and the existence of a portal with unknown destination. The enormous surge of magic had caught his attention and he had investigated. As a Red dragon, the wyrm was infused with Life magic. With training and experience, this granted him the ability to sense users of its opposite, along with a great hatred of those who wielded those powers. He _knew_ what it took to gain those abilities, what it took to have an aura like those he’d sensed.

  
  


Or, he thought he knew. When he had scented their terrible magical presence, Vordistrasz had been sure he was hunting down a few cultists, wielders of the powerful and terrible magics bought with the blood of innocents. Instead, he found three creatures, some kind of undead, and it had only taken two of them to humble the wyrm of two thousand years. Wishing he had the strength for just one more strike, he found he could do nothing but lie there and bleed. _So be it. There are worse deaths than this. I might be the first of my kind to stand on another world._

  
  


His introspection was cut short when the smaller, less substantial member of the trio sent the others off on some errand. As it was obviously a spell caster, the dragon became worried. As a magical creature he could fight off most attempts at control or possession, on a good day anyway. This… was not a good day. He didn’t expect the thing to start a conversation with him, much less in the tongue and inflections used by the Night Elves.

  
  


“Dragon! What has happened to my people since the end of the war! Tell me what has befallen the Kaldorei, quickly!”

  
  


Perhaps it was the earnestness of the question, perhaps it was the blood loss, or perhaps the dragon simply wanted one more conversation before he died. In any case, he decided to give the wraith the information it sought.

  
  


“The War of the Shifting Sands cost your people many lives, but the enemies were sealed away within the ruins of Ahn'Qiraj. For the most part the Kaldorei have retreated to the forests surrounding Mount Hyjal...”

  
  


“Dragon! I don’t even know what that war was fought against! Please, I have known only torture and suffering since I died serving Azshara. My mistake has haunted me for a very long time now…”

  
  


Vordistrasz looked at the creature before him for a moment. His knowledge of necromatic constructs was not vast but this one seemed to house an entire soul, not the fragments mortals called and used for their bidding. He felt a surge of compassion then.

  
  


“Elf, your people were broken when the War of the Ancients ended, along with every other people and the very world itself. Your people are now led by Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage, though Malfurion sleeps through the ages in the Emerald Dream. Before I hatched, the Kaldorei expelled their magic users. In time, the exiles crossed the sea and founded the nation of Quel'Thalas. When I am given rest from my duties Quel'Thalas is my favored place to wander, it has truly earned the title of ‘The Golden Realm.’

  
  


“I wish I could say your people have recovered, have grown, but in truth they have stagnated at best. With their immortality and the offered blessing of my Dragonflight’s fertility magic, your people should have risen to prominence as the rulers of the entire world. I wish it was so, for the Kaldorei are my people’s preferred neighbors. Instead, they procreate so very rarely, and the ‘High Elves’ of Quel'Thalas are comfortable in their home and rarely leave. I wish I could ease your suffering with better news, elf.

  
  


“But you must tell me, what is your purpose on this world? I was arrogant enough to assume I was hunting simple mortal necromancers. Obviously that mistake will cost me my life now, so at least let me leave this life with that knowledge.”

  
  


The armor that was Sildan Nighthelm said nothing for a moment, with the only movement his cloak billowing in the wind. “In truth, I do not know. Two objects in my possession are to be given to the most greedy, power hungry users of magic we can find. I do _not_ expect them to improve this world. It is funny dragon. I once served Azshara with pride, and then I placed my trust in her even when I should have turned on her and joined those that rebelled. So it is funny that now I develop a conscience when acting on it will lead to tortures the living can not even imagine.

  
  


“Yet, I can feel the pulse of this new world. So much weaker than ours, yet it feels vibrant and hopeful. I find that whoever the inhabitants are, I would perform one final act for them. My minders will soon return. Dragon, if it means protecting a world that is not your own, are you willing to die with us?”

  
  


There was no hesitation in the answer from the dragon that was still sluggishly bleeding on the ground. “Yes. I chose to be a Guardian as a drake, even knowing it was not a safe path. And my name is Vordistrasz. What is your plan?”

  
  


Here, the suit of armor to which an old soul was bound removed the items he was carrying. Two of the vials were hidden under the dragon, while one and the pendant were quickly slipped under his tongue. The sword that refused to allow Sildan to draw it was attached to his back under the cloak with a small bit of magic.

  
  


“When they return, I will lure them close. Draw out the power of those objects and burn the three of us when I expose the items. If you can destroy us down to our very souls, I beg you to do it for it will be a mercy. My name was once Sildan Nighthelm, and if there are any creatures that watch over the inhabitants of this world, let them aid us here. And I apologize Vordistrasz but I _must_ deceive them; you must hold the destruction of the items until the time is right. Brace yourself!”

  
  


Not knowing precisely when his minders would return, Sildan began casting magic he had learned from the Jailer whose only purpose was pain. His ‘victim’ would need to appear properly tortured for this to work, but he held back as much as he could. Thankfully twenty minuets later the grunts returned, and Sildan upped the torture, drawing forth a scream just as the two Mawsworn returned. Thankfully Vordistrasz took the unspoken cue and collapsed with closed eyes and trembling muscles when Sildan ended the magic.

  
  


With the dragon playing his part, Sildan moved forward and placed a gauntlet on his snout, sparking with magic. This magic did not actually do anything, but the dramatic flinch was appreciated. Turning around, he ordered the two hulking figures to report. They had discovered a school for users of magic not far from where they were now. Withdrawing the stick and the small stone, Sildan spoke.

  
  


“You will take these items and ensure they find their way into the hands of two students who are bitter rivals. The Master’s enchantments will do the rest, but only leave the items where they will be found, do not allow yourselves to be seen. I will finish turning this creature into a weapon for our master.”

  
  


Though it had been difficult, the wyrm had avoided crushing the vial and the amulet that held a flicker of his Queen’s flames during the torture. As the two hulking figures drew close he quietly drew in a deep breath and held it until they were within arm’s reach of the creature still touching his nose. Carefully he waited, and when the time was right he crushed the items under his tongue and channeled the sudden torrent of power into the spell weaved into his breath attack. With everything that he had, with everything taken from the items in his mouth, he willed ‘purification by fire’ into what he expected to be his last breath.

  
  


While the inferno that followed would have destroyed any lesser undead creature, the three of them were Mawsworn. More importantly than being dead, they were creatures of the spirit realm, of the land of the dead. As opposed to normal undead, they were part of the natural cycle of life and death. That they were creations of the Jailer meant they had been empowered as well as bound by the creature to his service. The flames were not enough, not for them or the artifacts the Jailer sought to unleash upon the world. Though, due to the nature of the magic unleashed, this field would be the most fertile farmland in the world for a rather long time.

  
  


With the power of a vial from the Well of Eternity empowering their breath, a wyrm from nearly any other Dragonflight would have been able to destroy the Mawsworn, but both of the conspirators failed to understand the nature of the creatures. Life magic was the least effective magic that could have been used. They were dead yes, but not in the sense that one of Earth’s Inferi or the shambling armies of the Lich King that were yet in Azeroth’s future were. Instead of being a weak construct of rotting flesh, these creatures were the souls of those who had died, warped, twisted, and tortured into the service of a horrifically powerful entity.

  
  


As the flames died off revealing failure, both of the hulking Mawsworn readied their heavy broadswords to end the dragon. Slipping behind the two of them, Sildan drew the blade that had rejected him earlier and plunged it into the weakest point of the enchanted armor of the closer grunt. With the armor still hot from the dragon’s fire, the magical blade easily punched through the base of the neck, and with a jerk, the creature quickly found itself decapitated. The enchantment binding soul to armor failed, and the soul’s suffering ended.

  
  


Sildan had the complete attention of the remaining Mawsworn now. While the wraith that was once a Night Elf wished he had more help, he really didn’t expect anything from the Red Wyrm that was convulsing madly in the backlash of so much magical energy. Using a child’s trick to call one of the remaining vials to his empty hand, he quickly considered his options. Sadly, there was almost no chance of defeating the hulking enemy in direct combat. With nothing more than a quick taunt, Sildan fled, the other creature close on his heels.

  
  


Turning North, away from the magical school nearby he saw two young magicals, mere teenagers with sticks held in their hands like weapons. The purpose of at least one of the items given to his possession suddenly clicked into place. Expecting it to be the last kindness he could afford for the heavily injured wyrm, Sildan sent a mental attack at the male teen. It was simple, since there was no time for anything else, but he forced upon him snippets of his memories of the War of the Ancients, of the Red Dragonflight standing against the demons and protecting children of his people. Then he showed the wounded wyrm and the path leading to it.

  
  


That was all the time he had before he continued in his flight from a certain death. Still focusing on moving, he allowed himself a brief moment to examine what little information he’d absorbed from the human. _He seemed to be a good man. Hopefully he and the female with him will keep Vordistrasz alive long enough to learn what is loose on their world. But what kind of name is Flamel?_

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Sildan Nighthelm would have counted it a blessing that he no longer needed rest, if only his pursuer had that weakness. With no better ideas he fled north through farmlands and forests and eventually crossed a stormy straight of water. He had finally been able to gain some distance there, being able to destroy the spell his pursuer used to stride above the waves more than once. He certainly had plenty of time to think, and eventually he came upon a solution.

  
  


Mawsworn could detect each other in some fashion, so he could never ambush the creature attempting to destroy him for his betrayal without significantly more time. At least, not on his own. Taking the time and spending precious moments he scanned minds as he went, hoping to find a brave man able to fight with a blade. Eventually he found a knight of the local king, as well as his location. It was difficult to navigate and learn the human’s language through the basic mental magic learned a lifetime ago, but he managed.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


That human knight really had no idea what was likely to happen when a floating suit of armor without legs wrapped in a long cloak burst from the underbrush, nearly panicking his horse. When it spoke, however, he readied himself for battle. The blade he was given was the finest he had ever held, and became even more impressive when the figure poured a few drops from a vial over the blade and the entire length of it began to glow.

“ _ **REMEMBER, WAIT UNTIL IT IS DISTRACTED FIGHTING ME. IF THIS CREATURE IS NOT DESTROYED IT WILL TAKE THE CURSED ITEMS IN MY POSSESSION AND WREAK INCREDIBLE SUFFERING UPON BOTH YOUR PEOPLE AND THE WHOLE OF THE WORLD. THIS IS MY LAST BATTLE, MY LAST CHANCE TO ATONE FOR MY FAILURE, AND THE ONLY HOPE YOUR PEOPLE HAVE. WE MUST NOT FAIL!”** _

  
  


That knight, whose name has been lost to history did not fail. When a lumbering hulk tore out of the underbrush mere moments later, it was immediately met by a torrent of spells from the first suit of armor. The human patiently waited for his opportunity to come, and it came when the first creature melted everything in the glade to slag and set the forest alight simply to knock its enemy on its back. If not for the dire warnings, this man would never have struck a dishonorable blow by plunging a blade into the eye space of the helm of a foe on his back, but his personal honor meant nothing compared to the suffering of his people.

  
  


Victory was theirs, but the knight would not live to tell the tale. While the enchanted blade punctured the Mawsworn’s helm, it was insufficient to kill the warped creature. A clawed hand that dwarfed the Knight’s own grabbed the knight’s chest, savaging armor and flesh; with the claws crushing one lung along with mangling bone and organs his fate was sealed. But still, it was time enough for Sildan to take hold of the blade and weave a spell through the metal to finish the job.

  
  


Not long after, Sildan Nighthelm found himself carrying the man’s corpse into his home village. The peasants fled before him, so the wraith leaned the body against a stone in the village square. He had not much time left, his master had woven his life force with that of his other two servants, and destroying the second one had begun to unravel his very soul.

  
  


But, he had time enough for this. With a rattling voice, he told the town of how their knight had destroyed a great evil, saved all those who dwelled in their lands, and allowed a fallen warrior a chance at redemption. When he finished speaking, he wove an enchantment on the sword forged by his people at the apex of their civilization and thrust it into the rock against which the knight rested. His last words to any human of that world informed that the blade could only be drawn from the stone by a man with equal courage of the deceased knight.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


From there Sildan fled into the forest, eventually floating over a river. Though he wished otherwise, he had not the power to destroy the stone and the wand given to him by the Jailer. But, with a vial of the Well of Eternity’s waters, he _could_ enchant a third item. With haste, Sildan tore off his cloak and poured the water over it, enchanting a spell and pouring his life, his _very soul_ into the magic he was weaving. The last act of Sildan Nighthelm was to enchant his cloak to hide the wearer from any eye, though this was only a small part of its purpose.

  
  


Both wand and stone were meant to bring suffering to this world, but now praying to every power he had ever heard of, Sildan empowered the cloak to weaken, to dampen the effects of both items. It was not a perfect solution, but under the circumstances it was the best he could accomplish.

  
  


Sildan found himself content as his very being fell apart, though his final hope that the three items would remain undiscovered for many years was not to be. Perhaps drawn to the magic he was weaving, consciously or not, three men had created a bridge over the wild river with their magic. From their perspective, they saw a being of shadows and glinting armor rise up towards them, and then collapse into smoke.

  
  


History would distort the truth of what had happened, but when the three brothers each chose an item left behind by the shade, only the man that took the cloak died well.

  
  


The two Deathly Hallows were intended to funnel souls to the fiend that forged the seemingly harmless items, and would have consumed the entire world in time. Those plans were thwarted by an old soul that chose to do one good deed to end his existence with. His final, desperate, hasty spell worked! His cloak suppressed the powers of those horribly cursed items, sparing millions.

  
  


Sadly, both items still had a bloody history on earth. The Elder Wand remained a powerful weapon, and though it did not corrupt in the manner it was meant to, it still whispered to its users, encouraging them to take lives. For seven centuries, men and women feel in droves before it.

  
  


Over two hundred years before it was used to conjure a Compressed Fiendfyre Bomb in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, a fool of a Dark Lord attempted to use The Elder Wand in a horcrux ritual, assuming that no one would ever destroy the world’s most powerful wand. He failed, and paid for his folly with his life shortly after, but the damage was done. Much of that dark lord’s being consumed by the Elder Wand, and the wand learned both cruelty and subtlety.

  
  


The less is said of the Stone and the horrific creatures it twisted human souls into, the better; those horrific creatures still guard the island where many of them were created centuries ago.

  
  


And the cloak, while not a thing made for battle, still safeguarded the bloodline of the brother who chose it at times. Peverell or later Potter, many lives were saved under the cover of that cloak. If those who found safety from war and treachery under it had been of the proper frame of mind, they might very well have noticed a small sense of joy, of purpose as their lives were protected. But, when one’s life is at stake, rarely is there the time for quiet reflection so the cloak’s emotions went unnoticed. And that suited that old piece of cloth just fine.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


A/N: Thanks to everyone that’s left a review! I enjoy every one of them!

  
  



	20. Chapter 20: Defense Association or Dragon Army?

You know, I never thought to figure out how many students were actually in Hogwarts until writing this chapter. Apparently the only concrete reference is the 20 brooms laid out for the first year Gryffindor and Slytherin students during the first flying lesson. Assuming that every house has the same number of students, that’s only 40 for Harry’s year. And only 280 total if all the classes have the same number of students, though I’m assuming the younger years have more thanks to Voldemort’s war ending when Harry was a year old.

  
  


T hanks to  hkurtz2013  on Fanfiction  for helping me edit this!

  
  


To recap the two previous chapters:

  
  


-Harry and other students received new familiars, animals imported from Azeroth. With the use of familiar magic and time, the creatures will eventually gain intelligence and become powerful companions.

-The first class on Magical Blacksmithing took place, with Senastrasz using the threat of hard work and an _extensive_ safety lecture to help reduce the class size to something more manageable.

-Harry found out he learns better by doing than learning through books. He’s learning to fight by sparring with Senastrasz while being ambushed by Talion to learn situational awareness. 

-They’ve grown the magical trees first mentioned in Chapter 8! There’s one tree for each flavor of dragon Harry has, and if people could suggest names I’d really appreciate it. (Physical descriptions halfway through 18.)

-Presented with the problem that empowering a Dragon Aspect (Basically turning a dragon into a Super Dragon.) of his own required a vast amount of magic, Harry had the idea of taking a small amount of magic from one individual and siphoning it into a dragon to slowly spark the change into an Aspect.

-Harry has decided that in the future his Dragonflight will explore space using magic. Though, this is more of a long-term goal.

-Chapter 19 was either an alternate origin for the Hallows, or a cannon compliant expansion of their origins depending how you want to look at it.

  
  


Chapter 20: Defense Association or Dragon Army?

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


For Hermione, the excitement of Harry’s  new goals  was difficult to shake off.  To the best of their knowledge , there was nothing stopping the Potter Dragonflight from utilizing a magical tattoo to drain  a  small amount of magic from one individual and direct it to another to slowly spark a drake or dragon’s transformation into an Aspect. The first one would take the longest by far, but once the first of Harry’s followers had completed the physical and magical transformation their vastly larger reserves of magic would allow successive Aspects to be empowered at an exponential rate.

  
  


Harry’s idea of expanding into space and establishing a colony on the red planet would not be easy; there was a lot to figure out, many problems to solve, but with magic on their side it would  _ work _ , one way or another. And it would be worth the effort to be free from every magical and mundane government. Seeing the results of  a living tree absorbing the dragon’s wand core materials was fascinating as well.  T he possibility of being able to harvest electricity from a magical tree was fascinating, though the true treasure was the tree grown from material donated by Tendrion.

  
  


That blue limbed and purple leafed tree was producing more magic than many adult wizards, and it was just a sapling. What was more, it was _producing_ the magic, not just pulling it from the surrounding environment and recirculating. How this was possible was a very good question actually. There was a lot of discussion flying around the table, so she moved next to Ralion, eager to learn more about his ability to access the ‘Twilight Realm,’ something she had heard only in passing as Alira worked with the three Twilight drakes to help them control their abilities.

  
  


Normally, she would simply ask Alira herself through the mental bond that while strange, had turned out to be rather nice. At the moment however, Alira was catching a bit of sleep, as  her day on Azeroth had been tiring and a little stressful.  (For the Green Drake, Earth had become  more of a home than her birth world. Alira was  _ well _ aware that Azeroth wasn’t a safe place.) Hermione had promised to wake the drake in time to guard Harry’s mind when he went to sleep. Seeing Ralion smiling, and just listening to everything around him, she started to speak.

  
  


“ Ralion, if you don’t mind I’d like to ask you about the Twilight Realm. I’m really curious how it works, that tree is very interesting.”

  
  


Ralion gave a slight nod of his head that he agreed as he thought for a moment. “Well we still don’t understand a lot about it. The Twilight Realm seems to be something we’re intrinsically connected to, like the Green Dragons and the ‘Emerald’ Dream. It was interesting to find that the Dream exists here as well, but it hasn’t been shaped like the one back home. That implies…”

  
  


With a grin Hermione c ouldn’t  help  finishing his thought . “That the Dream is a part of reality everywhere there’s life that dreams! The Titans must have just shaped that ‘plane’ for their own purposes! And if the Twilight Realm exists on Earth as well as Azeroth…”

  
  


With a broad grin on his face at the teen he’d assumed to be his Lord’s consort or mate when they first met, Ralion finished her thought. “That the Twilight Realm isn’t a creation of the old gods either! Whatever it is, the Realm is something we were connected to with the Netherwing essence the Twilight Cult collected and forced on us! I have no idea what this _means_ exactly, but it’s nice to know that part of me is connected to a natural part of the universe instead of my powers being a creation of the filth that enslaved me.”

  
  


Hermione bit her lip in thought. “Well, what is the ‘Realm’ itself actually like? Our Blue said the magic coming from the tree was too chaotic, too harsh to let near most wards. We’re going to have to plant them in  a  pattern with the other trees, use the  Blue, Green, and  Red ones to tune the magic to something more calm.”

  
  


“ As far as I know, nothing lives there. The Twilight Realm is desolate, lifeless, and filled with energy that constantly tries to destroy anything that isn’t a Twilight Dragon. And I’m not sure we’d be safe if we lost focus or tried to sleep there either. I think, though, that it’s closer to this plane of reality than the Dream. Caliona has had some success in transitioning herself there, and when she scratched the stone floor there, it scratched here as well. We’re still trying to figure out if ward structures can be bypassed that way or not.”

  
  


For a time, Hermione discussed the Twilight Realm more with Ralion and later Caliona. After about half an hour, Harry mentioned that he wanted to speak to her with Ralion, Stine, Senastrasz and Aurogos in the Room of Requirement. A few moments later, the two humans and four drakes were comfortable in a space  reminiscent of Gryffindor Common Room with couches sized for drakes. Hermione had found that the Room was usually very warm and comfortable with dark  tones when Harry had control of it.  _ It gives one an idea of what his home would look like I suppose. Potter Manor wouldn’t be a bad place to live if it turns out as comfortable as the Room of Requirement when he shapes a room. _

  
  


When they were all seated Harry took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his face becoming very serious as he did so. As he started to speak his tone matched his face.

  
  


“ I wanted to talk to you all about a second idea I’ve had that builds on using a small portion of our magic to create a Dragon Aspect. I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up for nothing, but as I was  looking through the archive records to learn more about Keristraza, her fate angered me. Stine, is there any reason the Bronze Dragonflight can’t use their powers to save lives? I understand that you want to preserve the timeline. But, if someone were to switch this out with a whelp:”

  
  


Here, Harry drew his wand and  cast a rough inanimate to animate transfiguration on an ottoman. All eyes turned to  the piece of furniture  as it  suddenly changed into a mostly-perfect dragon whelp. Though the moving object still had some characteristics of it’s source, it was obviously intended to be Bavaku. Everyone present watched as it gradually had more and more trouble ‘breathing,’ eventually ‘dying’ before Harry willed it away.

  
  


Harry’s face was grim, and he was obviously having a hard time keeping his emotions under control. Hermione pulled him into a hug as they waited for Stine to reply. Stine’s words, when they came, were not what Harry was hoping for.

  
  


“My Lord, I’m sorry. While it is possible for you and eventually will be for us, to let transfigurations die in place of others, they would still die. My Dragonflight never discovered with certainty how or why, but every time an individual tried to save someone from their fate, and there has _always_ been a Bronze that would lose friend or loved and attempt something similar, every time it ended in disaster.

  
  


“ For those who die, there’s nothing we can do to save them. Save them from their imminent death and they slowly wither away, and there’s no time or place on Azeroth that can spare them that.”

  
  


Into the resulting silence, Harry calmly spoke again. “We’re not on Azeroth. I don’t know if we’re even in the same universe as the other side of the portal. Though my people’s knowledge is far from complete, we have no references to the ‘Twisting Nether’ at all. I’m not going to tempt fate by trying to access that place, no sense calling the attention of demons to our world if it exists here, but I think there would have been some reference to a magical dimension that overlaps our own. The last few days I’ve found references to the Dream in the rituals performed by Aboriginal Australians and other cultures. What the true nature of the Dream is has been debated a lot, but they acknowledge that it exists.”

  
  


It took the Potter Dragonflight’s only Bronze drake a moment to respond. “My Lord, I don’t know. You might be right, or you might be wrong. There’s really only one way to know for sure.”

  
  


Nodding to his sworn, Harry began to close the gathering. “I’m going to work on my Transfiguration. Senastrasz, I want you to put me through as much combat training as you think I can take. Stine, you are in charge of getting an initial plan to find out if we can prevent a lot of death. From what I understand, you should be able to slip in and out of the Caverns of Time safely for now, right?”

  
  


At the Bronze’s nod, Harry continued. “Good. Pick a time and location where we aren’t likely to be seen, but where we might be able to find a second Broodmother for our Dragonflight. Other than that, we could use more people who can fight and are willing to take the Loyal Lord oath.  T here is no way I’m going to chance a cultist slipping in and being free to turn something horrific loose on this world. We have enough problems o n our own.”

  
  


Stine only had to think for a moment. “Harry, Mount Hyjal in the last six months is as good a choice as any. I’d suggest going through twice if this works, once now for a few easier individuals and then again later if this works. I’ll contact Stellagosa and see if she can acquire official casualty lists for us, to make our job easier.”

  
  


Senastrasz started speaking then. “If you want an additional Broodmother to help take the load off of Valistraza, Sethria and Desperiona are names I can remember from the Twilight Dragonflight that might be willing to help raise whelps; both of them were responsible for younger dragons. They won’t have Vali’s training, but they can learn. Broodmothers are usually kept far from conflict, but I know  some died when the Twilight Cult stole their  clutch . Finding out enough specifics will be difficult, and it might be best to wait until we know for certain this will work.

  
  


“ T here w ere no shortage of mortals that perished on that damn mountain. If this works we could have druids, priests, and trained fighters by the hundred easily. More drakes died than we could possibly feed right now, but  we’ll get some expanded rabbit enclosures  built  to be sent to Black Island.

  
  


“ Harry, I don’t think you’re ready to walk through a warzone like you’re planning to yet. But, I have an idea. There’s more than one place we can travel to, a month or two earlier than we need to be for Hyjal, and between a good magical tent and a couple expanded spaces for  raising food we could simply throw up magic to hide us while we beat you and maybe a few others into shape.”

  
  


Spending some time alone with his sworn, studying and learning to fight really did appeal to Harry. Stine was cautious with good reason, but Harry had a sense deep in his gut that this was going to work. When he considered draining a bit of magic from every one of his sworn to strengthen one into an Aspect, and then had a thought that he just needed more followers… It was hard to describe how _right_ the plan felt.

  
  


“ Sen, you and Talion will need to melt down some galleon coins. We’ll use them to purchase muggle silver for the oath ritual. I’m going to Gringotts this weekend if McGonagall can escort me to get a better idea of my finances. If my vault isn’t producing a respectable amount of interest I’m going to empty it. I want to leave for the Caverns of Time within a week, let’s get everything prepared.

  
  


“ Keep this tentative plan to yourselves for the moment. Once we know if it works we can  start to plan  for real . You’ve told me of so many massacres, betrayals and senseless deaths.”

  
  


Here Harry locked eyes with Aurogos. “The Nexus War.” Harry  moved his gaze to Senastrasz. “Hordes of Orcs and the suffering they inflicted on the innocent.” Harry turned to Stine. “The ones your people wanted to help but couldn’t.” And finally Harry  looked  Ralion  in the eyes . “And all those warped, tortured dragons, who can’t even see the chains binding them.

  
  


“I don’t want to promise anything I can’t deliver, but I am going to try to help them. Not only because we need more hands to fight the coming war, but because it’s the right thing to do. Those people can _live_ here on our world. Not just live either. We’re going to _thrive!_ We’re going to, in no specific order, end Voldemort and his terrorists, deal with the Ministry, build enormous space stations and colonize new worlds. That is the future I see for us!”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


With that, Wednesday October 18th 1995 ended on a high note. After classes let out the next afternoon, Harry caught up to Neville Longbottom. After a greeting and a few words exchanged, Harry escorted Neville and Dean Thomas to the current door of the Room of Requirement on the fifth floor. Dean had asked Harry if he could join, sensing a clandestine meeting and assuming that Harry was recruiting. For what, the teen had no idea but Dean had been a quiet supporter of Harry for a long time. Not a friend, per say, but he _believed_ in Harry Potter.

  
  


As they entered the Room of Requirement, Hermione smiled at them and transferred control of the Room to Harry. Unsurprisingly, she had her nose in a rather large tome and was mostly lost to the world. Quickly, the Room changed, bringing up a partition so Hermione could study in peace (She was determined to understand all of the theory behind the expansion of the Potter Estate grounds Saturday, and was making significant progress towards that goal.) and producing a comfortable sitting area for the three teenage boys to the surprise of Dean and Neville. Harry had a smile on his face as he gave a quick explanation of the Room of Requirement.

  
  


“ We’re planning to have the Defense Association meet here tomorrow, no matter how many people show up we can have everything we need. Now, I’m not sure how to really go about this, but I’m wondering if you guys would like to join the group I’m forming. The two of you are actually getting my first attempt at the recruitment speech. I’ll  tell you about some of the things we’re doing after I show some memories. Now, I’ll give you an oath that these memories are true to the best of my knowledge before we start. These memories have also been verified by the two mind-healers poking around in my head as well.”

  
  


Over the next hour, Harry showed his two dorm-mates his memories of his  adventures since returning to the magical world interspersed with explanations. Among the shared scenes were first year’s  year confrontation with Voldemort, his fight with the Basilisk in the Chamber and the destruction of the cursed diary, Sirius Black interacting with Peter Pettigrew, the events of the Third Task, and finally his visit by Dementors over the summer.

  
  


“To answer some questions before you ask, Sirius is my Sworn Godfather. My parents changed their secret keeper because everyone knew Sirius was best friends with my father. As for the ‘Sworn’ part? Sirius used a traditional Black family godfather oath. If he _had_ betrayed my family he would never have lived long enough to be put in Azkaban.

  
  


“Skipping the bits about the dark lord for now, the last memory is important. If I wasn’t paranoid enough to carry my wand with me all the time, I would have been dead, no, worse than dead. All because I told the truth when I got back from the graveyard with Cedric’s body and _Fudge_ didn’t want to believe me or _investigate._ The Ministry of Magic claims to have total control of the Dementors, so how did two of them show up on my street?”

  
  


Both of Harry’s guests went silent at that. Dean was the first to speak. “Harry, mate, someone tried to have you killed again. Do you think it was He-who-must-not-be-named?”

  
  


With a sigh, Harry answered. “I still think that phrase is ridiculous. If you don’t want to use his name, call him the ‘dark lord.’ That’s a phrase he truly earned, horrible as his actions are. And no, I don’t think Voldemort tried to kill me, he’s laying low right now, gathering his followers. And he wants to kill me himself, or he could have had me killed easily last year. Imagine if the fake Moody had just thrown a lethal curse at me with no warning?”

  
  


All three of them winced at that. Neville spoke next. “Harry, we have to tell people, show them that memory. You could have Fudge thrown out of office by a mob!”

  
  


Whatever response Neville expected it wasn’t for Harry to start laughing. “And who would believe me? Somehow, the public still believes the Daily Prophet and they have been doing everything they can to destroy my credibility.

  
  


“ Six words why I don’t trust the Ministry to get better even if Fudge got kicked out: Malfoy, Macnair, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott. How many of those men have power in the Ministry?”

  
  


Neville answered Harry. “Four of them that I know of. Malfoy has a lot of people bought and paid for, Nott and Avery have a lot of sway with certain departments and committees. Macnair is an executioner for magical creatures, from what I’ve heard he just likes killing things.”

  
  


When Dean and Harry looked at Neville with raised eyebrows, Neville huffed and explained. “My Gran sits in our family seat on the Wizengamot, and she complains a lot about those names and others when she’s at home. So you don’t trust anyone at the Ministry Harry? There’s some good people there.”

  
  


Pausing to look both teens in the eyes, Harry responded. “I only know of one: Arthur Weasley. To be  blunt , he isn’t someone I would trust with any thing important. Also, I really don’t like the attitudes almost every wizard or witch I’ve met has about other sentient beings. Hell, I’m not even sure if Mr. Weasley thinks of muggles as people or some kind of clever animals. Not to mention the whole blood purity crap. No offense Neville, but  a lot of the purebloods I’ve met tend to be living examples of why inbreeding is a bad idea.

  
  


“ No, I’m not going to risk placing any trust in the Ministry after they threw my godfather into Azkaban for a decade with no trial and tried to kill me over the summer.” Here, Harry took a moment and ordered his thoughts. At a silent request, the Room provided a clock. As it was nearly time for dinner, Harry decided to try introducing his  fellow Gryffindors to his Sworn.

  
  


“ I’d like you guys to join me for dinner here and introduce you to some  people , do you mind?” Receiving their agreement, Harry called for Dobby to take their orders for dinner and sent a Patronus down into the Chamber of Secrets. He willed a door to the Chamber to appear next to Hermione in case a whelp tried to join the drakes he asked to join him.

  
  


Idly, he hoped Hermione wasn’t about to be tackle-hugged by a small dragon. In the last few days the whelps had started a game of flying into anyone they could and immediately snuggling into them. To be honest it was very adorable, and while distracting wasn’t exactly dangerous so no had the heart to tell them to stop.

  
  


A few moments later Harry altered the room again, revealing Hermione placing the tome she had been reading into her satchel (With the complete lack of spells preventing it, she had taken to copying any interesting book the Room produced and adding it to the collection in the Chamber of Secrets.) and Caliona and Talion conversing with her. Harry had chosen them out of all his followers because they had human forms that had not been seen in the castle yet.

  
  


Greeting them, Harry started to introduce them only to pause. “By any chance have you two worked out what names you want to go by around other people yet?”

  
  


It turned out they had not. “Okay, Dean, Neville, this is part of something I was trying to build up to. This is Caliona and Talion. For some reason, their culture doesn’t do last names like ours does, but you can consider the ‘ona’ and ‘ion’ to be something similar. I guess one way to put it would be that it marks them as part of a clan?”

  
  


Even with the lack of ‘proper’ last names Neville and Dean found themselves quickly warming up to the two newcomers. Neville didn’t put much thought into their names and Dean just wrote them off as another example of the strange names he’d seen since coming into the magical world. Dobby soon came through with an excellent dinner, even Harry’s medical diet was well prepared.

  
  


Though Harry had been raised on traditional English cuisine, lately he had found himself nearly drooling for the various foods served to the rest of the castle. Dalistraza still wanted him to only eat food grown or raised Azeroth for the time being. As Hermione and Dean began to eat an assortment of Indian food the Patil twins had requested from the elves after sharing their family’s recipes, only for a number of other students to taste and enjoy, Harry found himself again eating a large roast with minimal vegetables. He was really starting to look forward to a salad. Even Neville’s Shepard’s Pie was looking good.

  
  


After a rather enjoyable meal where Harry was glad to have some jungle fruit for desert, Harry tried to think of the best way to breach the coming subject. Eventually, he decided that the best way was to just get it over with.

  
  


“ You’ve seen some of the crazy situations I’ve been involved in through my eyes. The reason I wanted to speak to you both is that I’ve decided not to submit to the Ministry of Magic any longer. I am not going to declare war on them, but I don’t recognize their right to control me. I’m sure eventually they’ll declare war on me, whether before or after Voldemort takes control of the Ministry.

  
  


“ I want to offer you both a place in my organization. The downsides are that Voldemort is going to come after me, and he’ll probably use the Ministry to do it. On the other hand, I can cast the Fidelius Charm now, so if you have a place less well-known than Hogwarts Castle, I can give you a mostly safe home.”

  
  


Pausing for a moment, Harry pulled out a page of paper covered in his own notes. Reminding himself to transfer his notes to a cleaner sheet later, he started again. “For the people that follow me, we have a few perks. Right now I have Hermione and a few other people working on a magical tattoo that when fully charged we believe will protect you from up to five Killing Curses. I’m also handing out spare wands, maybe some enchanted weapons, and access to an entirely new style of healing.”

  
  


At that, Harry removed his glasses and set them on the table. “In some ways, the new healing magic is better than what we use, in some ways ours is better. But for those that follow me, they get the benefits of the best of both. Soon, I’ll be able to offer a bit of permanent magic that will grow your reserves of magic, even while you sleep.

  
  


“ Lastly, I’m offering training in both combat and a variety of magic. Neville, based on the core in your new wand you should do well with a type of magic centered around nature and plant life, good news is that I know someone who can get you started and where to take you so you can learn the more difficult magic as well. Bad news is that you’ll have to travel to learn the advanced parts.”

  
  


Dean and Neville were both thoughtful for a moment. Surprisingly, it was Neville that spoke next. “Harry, it almost sounds like you’re giving a Dark Lord’s recruitment speech. What are your goals?”

  
  


A glance from Harry managed to stop the two disguised drakes bristling before he responded. “If you take the ‘dark’ part out, you’re right. I am not going to be torturing people in the night or murdering children. _**Ever.**_

  
  


“ My main goal, the one I work towards before anything else, is to keep those who have sworn their loyalty to me safe. To see them survive, to see them  _ thrive _ . To that end, I need to destroy Voldemort. After that, and though it is only a side project right now, I want to start exploring space and start a colony on Mars.”

  
  


Dean more than Neville was very interested in using magic to visit space. Though he was a halfblood Dean had been raised wholly in the muggle world, growing up watching and reading science fiction. He got very excited when Hermione mentioned that they should be able to solve most of the difficulties with magic and the two of them broke into a side conversation enthusiastically.

  
  


While the two spoke, Harry and Neville regarded each other. Eventually Neville spoke. “Harry, this might be a mistake, but I’ll join if your healers can help my parents. I hate to talk about it, but a few days after you lost yours, my parents were attacked by the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr.  They… just kept my mom and dad under the Cruciatus until their minds broke. ”

  
  


Harry had heard about Neville’s parents last year, but hadn’t mentioned it to the boy, feeling Neville actually had it worse than he did. While Harry desperately wanted to know his parents, to see them alive but unable to respond to him… In any case, this was an easy choice. Grabbing Neville’s shoulder, he responded.

  
  


“ Of course  I’ll help you Neville .  I don’t know for sure we can help your parents, but if its possible my healers will help.  Have your parents moved to your house, I’ll fetch Hedwig if you want her to take a message. I don’t actually know anything about your house, but I assume there’s room. My group is trying to keep a low profile for now, so I’d prefer to have your parents treated in private.”

  
  


Only a few moments later, Hedwig was taking wing towards the ancestral home of the Longbottom family. Later that night Hedwig would make a second trip, delivering a message to the Thomas family from Dean to arrange a good time to lay a wardstone to keep their family safe. (While the wards established would not be enough to eliminate a determined Death Eater raid, it would provide more than enough time for those inside the house to flee. Planning to take advantage of  Hogwarts house elves’  time that was freed up by improvements to the school’s farm, Harry arranged for the Thomas' home to be given an escape tunnel as well.  Or rather a tunnel that would allow the family to escape the range of  an anti-portkey jinx and use  an  emergency portkey to Potter Estate. )

  
  


After hearing Harry’s plans and the boons he was willing to grant his followers Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas decided to join Harry’s movement. Dean had no qualms about the oath Hermione described, but Neville was reluctant. For now, both teens agreed to sign a binding magical contract that prevented them from sharing the secrets Harry had shared.

  
  


With that done, the group broke up. Talion and Caliona headed back down into the Chamber while Dean and Neville headed back to Gryffindor Tower. With the Room of Requirement providing a door near the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry went in and found Ron right where the map had said he’d be. After waiting a few moments for his friend to finish a chess game, Harry invited Ron to follow him back to the Room.

  
  


Sitting around a small table in the Room and e njoying a late tea, Harry explained some of his new plans, including using the dragon’s ability to navigate time to expand their forces. After a bit of discussion, Harry pulled out a small handwritten book and handed it to Ron.

  
  


“ Mate, on Monday one of the tomes I got a copy of was the crafting instructions for a weapon called ‘Quel'Serrar’ which means ‘The High Blade’ in the el ven language I  _ don’t _ speak.  A nother term for the weapon is ‘dragon blade.’ In the final steps of the forging process, the blade is heated in dragonfire and quenched in their blood. In about a week Senastrasz is going to forge the first one, after doing a test run with a dagger. This sword should be a masterpiece, he’s crafting it with an alloy of Titansteel from Azeroth, Khorium from Outland and Goblin Silver from a shattered blade we found in the basilisk’s nest.

  
  


“ A gem fused into it near the hilt will even let the wielder use it to cast simple spells. I want you to have it Ron.” Ron was silent for a time. He had been feeling rather left out of this latest adventure so far, and his insecurities had been flaring up. But, what his best friend was offering…

  
  


While most of the Potter Dragonflight, (And Ron had laughed when Hermione had explained the origin of the name to him while Harry despaired of ever getting his followers to change it.) had been busy doing various tasks, Ron had been learning a lot about blacksmithing from Senastrasz. Metallurgy was a large part of that.

  
  


(Titansteel was less a product of smelting different materials together than it was alchemy, fusing different materials together to achieve an incredibly strong metal. Khorium was a magic-channeling metal; it was also rare and very expensive, mined from what was left of the planet Draenor and was horribly dangerous to acquire. Goblin silver wasn’t actually silver, but some metal or alloy whose production had long been kept from wizards; it’s most incredible property was the ability to absorb substances that could make it stronger.)

  
  


What Harry was offering Ron was an incredibly valuable  item . All the Malfoy’s gold would not be enough to purchase a weapon like this, if it would eve n be offered for sale. And such a blade was also a show of trust, that Harry would expect him to fight by his side and never abandon or betray him. With such trust offered to him, there was only one response. “Thank you Harry. Does this mean I’ll be joining you in getting thrashed most nights?”

  
  


Harry just laughed for a moment before the Room shifted and changed as Hermione, comfortably studying her tome from earlier, transferred control back to Harry. An extensive collection of weapons formed around the room even as Ron found a model of the planned blade in front of him. The blade was double-edged and angular, with a crimson gem set in the blade itself and a thick, heavy guard that protected the entire grip. It was small enough to be wielded with one hand (though that would certainly require more muscles) but had room on the grip to be used with two if needed.

  
  


Ron marveled at it for a moment before picking it up. The weapon was heavier than it looked, but was incredibly well balanced. It would take some work to get used to wielding it. He started giving it a few practice swings even as Harry started speaking again.

  
  


“Yeah, you’ll be joining me. Practice with the Room’s model of it for now to start building up your arms, then read the notes I gave you tonight or tomorrow morning. Sen’s forging the blade, but _you_ need to imbue the gem. Azeroth’s mages developed a way to enchant gems to focus magic, it’s complicated but something we’ll both be doing. Right now I need to find what kind of weapon fits me, while deadly the Sword of Gryffindor can’t wield magic or be reforged to do so.”

  
  


Until long after curfew, the three friends stayed together in the Room of Requirement, catching up and just enjoying spending time together. Hermione started keeping up a conversation while checking her notes and starting a homework assignment, Ron started to get a feel for swinging a sword, and Harry discarded  weapon  after weapon in the search for one that felt right in his hands. Given that this layout included every weapon seen by everyone who had used the Room, there was a lot to  search through.

  
  


Eventually, Harry settled on a spear of possibly oriental design. It was taller than he was, at nearly seven feet long from the elegant, wavy bladed head to the simple, though sharp, point at the other end. Set in the blade were two small green gems, and the wooden shaft was decorated with a dark red tassel where the metal blade met the shaft, and a shorter one near the bottom.

  
  


As Harry held the recreation in his hands, he noted that if he crafted this weapon, the gems could be enchanted with the same technique he gave Ron to look over. In fact, there was probably some way to use the seemingly decorative tassels to further weaponize the spear. Smiling, Harry imagined storing a powdered form of Alira’s breath attack in the tassels and using his magic to release it during a battle. Given his apparent ability with lightning magic, Harry made a note to find out if Potter Manor had  included a lightning rod and if so, to try digging it out of the rubble.

  
  


Harry needed to start sifting through the remains of his family’s ancestral home soon anyway. Thankfully Fiendfyre hadn’t been used when his grandparents were killed, though that was likely out of self-preservation on the attacker’s parts as much as anything else. Fiendfyre was _hungry_ and always desired to turn on the magical that summoned it; if it had been able to grow by consuming the Manor, no human would have been able to control it.

  
  


(He had a sneaking suspicion that Senegos was exploring the use of the  spell  to destroy Deathwing. Harry wasn’t sure if he wanted to witness what a being whose anger had left him unable to stand or breathe could accomplish with those cursed flames. Thankfully there were methods, though neither simple nor easy, to counter  Fiendfyre , something else Harry had looked into after the battle with Dumbledore.)

  
  


As he looked over and saw Ron making practice swings with the model sword in both hands, Harry smirked. A sparring session between the two of them should be fairly equal; though this spear felt like a weapon worth learning it was completely new to him. A short moment of ‘requiring’ and Harry had two blunted weapons both capable of casting spells, though with nowhere near the precision of a wand.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


An hour later Hermione requested Alira and Dalistraza come to the Room to fix up the two boys who were bruised and burnt in a surprising number of ways. Where Lightning and Air elemental magic fit Harry best, Fire and Earth fit Hermione, Ron worked almost equally well with Ice and Fire. After giving Ron a concise explanation of how magic was easier to use when feeling turbulent emotions, Harry had needled his friend almost their entire spar. With an admittedly bad temper Ron was soon using the provided sword to throw various bits of magic at Harry, using emotion and excessive magic to make up for a lack of precision.

  
  


Dalistraza quickly got to work on Ron who was still twitching after Harry had ended their match in a near draw, summoning a wave of lightning that swept out from him in all directions before dropping to his knees in exhaustion. Alira was proving herself skilled with potions, using Azeroth’s and Earth’s in conjunction as she coated burns from fire, electricity, and ice in the appropriate salve. To the human’s amusement Dail used the opportunity to lecture the younger dragon on the proper treatment of these injuries in a variety of races, Hermione taking notes all the while.

  
  


Not long after, Ron stepped through a door into the corridor just outside the Gryffindor common room with two vials of potion in a pocket, one to finish healing the electrical damage and the other as a general healing potion mixed with a Dreamless Sleep potion. Suffice it to say, he slept well that night.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


The next day passed fairly quickly, and Harry found himself increasingly nervous as the first meeting of the Defense Association neared. Hermione had arranged for students to join them two hours after the last class of the day ended, giving everyone some time to unwind and relax. With the Room of Requirement’s entrance no longer accessible to most of the school, Harry would be opening a doorway on the third floor, not far from the main staircases when the time came.

  
  


With a new Headmaster and Umbridge out of the castle they had decided to drop some of the secrecy;  or rather, to split the Defense Association into three groups with varying secrecy. The  first group would simply be a study group for passing the exams and learning magic they should have from various Defense professors but did not along with non-offensive magic like the Patronus charm. Next would be the students who agreed to sign a contract to neither join or support Harry’s enemies, provided Harry kept to certain standards of behavior; these students would learn basic combat magic.  Lastly would be those who chose to take the loyalty oath from Azeroth. Harry was still planning to show his memories, even the ones that he wasn’t proud of, but  only to those who swore not to aid his enemies . 

  
  


T hose students who chose to join Harry as part of his organization would be learning combat from both Senastrasz and Nymphadora Tonks, evasion and stealth from Talion, healing from Dalistraza, and as much magic from two worlds as possible. The Potter Dragonflight would provide a spare wand and either a wardstone to protect their homes or a supplementary rune stone meant to give existing defensive wards  teeth . (Aggressively defensive was the goal.  Put another way, the goal for those who came to murder families in cold blood was to put them six feet under. ) When it was finished, they’d be getting a copy of the magical tattoo various people and dragons were working on creating. Even Stellagosa and a number of Blue dragons back on Azeroth were helping efforts along, eager to reap the benefits themselves.

  
  


(Work on the tattoo’s Arithmancy had been progressing, though slowly.  Adding the best part of several magical traditions had  greatly complicated the project but in the end would produce a better result.  More features in addition to the magic transfer had been added during the planning stages, and while a work in progress it was only a matter of time until the tattoo was ready. The finished products would take one percent of their bearer’s magic, shunting that to the appropriate dragon to help spark the change in biology and magic to elevate them into a Dragon Aspect. This constant drain would force the well of magic in both dragon and wizard to grow.

  
  


A sophisticated tracking spell was fairly easy to include as well, but the feature that would prove most tempting to the students of Hogwarts was the well of magic that would be donated by Valistraza. At need, the students could tap this stored energy to regenerate but _not_ heal (The difference being the lack of guided precision, meaning bones would need to be broken and reset and wounds would leave a lot of scar tissue.) their wounds, provide strength to continue fighting, and most importantly resist at least a few killing curses.

  
  


Earth’s killing curse, after careful study, was confirmed to be an expression of ‘Fel’ magical energy, the same as used by the demons of the Burning Legion. Thankfully, like much of the magic from Earth it was tightly controlled through wands, shielding the caster from  most of its degenerative effects; more importantly  the tightly controlled nature of wanded magic  kept the Fel magic tightly confined and impossible to notice across worlds.

  
  


Where a ‘warlock’ on Azeroth would sweep his hands and throw out green fire or summon an Infernal (A fiery demon that fell to the surface as a meteor before rising from its crater.) a dark wizard would jab a wand and send out a tiny bolt of the same energy whose entire purpose was to end a life by forcibly separating a soul from its’ mortal coil. Compared to the wasting and corrupting influence on those who used it, Earth’s ‘Fel’ spells were confined to a lesser mental effect,  making every subsequent use  easier  and causing a form of addiction . Earth’s  spells that used Fel energy also did not carry  _ as much _ of a  risk of tainting an area, poisoning the land and air itself.

  
  


Magical energy exists as part of a spectrum, with different points having wildly different properties. Arcane magic was associated with order, and commonly used by mortals of both worlds and the Blue Dragonflight; it’s opposite, Fel energy was chaos and destruction,  the opposite of Arcane . While those two energies clashed violently with each other, using a well of Arcane energy to rebuff Fel inside a living creature was a recipe for disaster,  either in the explosive clash of magic or the corrupting effects of Fel magic.

  
  


Life magic, however, could rebuff Fel magic as well. As the name implied, Life magic encouraged life, bolstered nature, encouraged new growth, gave blessings of fertility, and provided powerful healing. At its heart was the struggle of predator and prey, of change and the end of stagnation. Life magic from a Red dragon was tinted with Fire magic as well. And Fire concerned purification just as much as it did destruction. This was the basis of the ‘Life-Fire’ common to the Red Dragonflight. So not only would the magic contained inside the tattoo rebuff Fel magic, but it would purify Fel’s corruptive effects as well.

  
  


So Valistraza would channel her power into the network of tattoos as she was able, energy infused with Life  and Fire collecting in each one. Other than the active effect of ‘tapping’ this store of power, there were a few lesser passive benefits.  Fire would likely incline the bearers towards action where they might have been passive before.  Those carrying a full  tattoo would likely grow a little larger and stronger, both physically and magically. Likely not much, but this was a new application of magic so the full results were unknown. But it was highly unlikely that there would be negative effects from storing an energy that promoted life within themselves, with one exception. Life magic promoted fertility, so every contraceptive known to man, dragon, or elf would be defeated in time. Compared to surviving a few strikes from the Killing Curse, it seemed a small price to pay.)

  
  


At the appropriate time, Harry asked the Room of Requirement to open a door to the agreed location, Hermione and Ron at his sides. There was no shortage of interested students, it seemed as if over half the school showed up. After explaining that he would show his memories after the meeting, Harry ran through the three spells he was planning to have everyone present proficient in: the ‘Protego’ shield charm, a simple but effective shield, the Stunning spell, and the Patronus charm, a useful piece of magic and one sure to please the examiners. Along with practicing the elemental spells given to the students by Aurogos th e se spells would give the students a decent chance of  both  surviving an attack  and passing their exams .  ( While not the  examiner’s  preferred answer to dealing with a magical threat, ‘kill it with fire’ remained an effective way to deal with most hostile creatures .)

  
  


Harry found himself surprised at how fast the first hour went by. Soon he was addressing the gathered students. “For most of you, this part of the Defense Association will be enough. I’m going to be hosting a second smaller club afterwards, but I will be restricting attendance to those who swear an oath not to join or support my enemies. Hermione has written out a simple document that everyone who stays will need to sign, it’s a clever piece of contractual magic that will remove the memory of the meeting from those who choose to not to  swear the oath after hearing what I have to say .

  
  


“ If you choose to stay, you’ll see events from my eyes thanks to a pensieve and Professor Tonks will be joining us to give an oath that the memories are real and not a result of Dumbledore screwing with my head. I  know I seem paranoid, but you’ll understand my caution after seeing events through my eyes.” It took nearly twenty minutes for the room to empty of those unwilling to sign the contract, among them Draco Malfoy and the children of known Death Eaters. They did inspect the contract before leaving, but it was a relatively simple document that would use their own magic to remove the specified memory if the stated oath wasn’t given.

  
  


When the last reluctant student left, Harry altered the Room a little and Andromeda Tonks accompanied by her daughter stepped through a new door. Looking around, Harry realized he had lost about half of those who had come, leaving him with roughly a fourth of the student body. Nearly every muggleborn student had remained, along with some surprising faces, like Daphne Greengrass and her younger sister Astoria. From what Harry had been told by Andromeda, the Greengrass family had generally stayed out of the war, simply doing business with both sides. Though Daphne and her sister _did_ have an uncle in Azkaban for following Voldemort.

  
  


Andromeda stepped forward then carrying a small case of glass vials. After giving an oath that she and another mind-healer who wished to remain anonymous for  now had verified the memories in these vials as authentic, she passed the case to Harry. Willing a very large pensieve to appear in the middle of the room, Harry spoke a few words. “Just to warn you, some of these memories are disturbing. I, I’ve been through some crazy shit at this school.”

  
  


Chuckling at the students, especially the older ones doubting him, Harry started with the memory of the Troll incident his first Halloween at Hogwarts. Afterwards, he asked the students not to think too badly of a couple of eleven year old boys. He followed this up with the ‘cursed broom’ incident, both from his perspective and Hermione’s.  Fred and George led  three cheers for  Hermione  setting Professor Snape on fire.

  
  


After that, Harry showed short memories of the ‘breadcrumbs’ that led to the series of simple traps protecting the Philosopher's Stone. His first meeting with Voldemort and Dumbledore’s explanation in the infirmary when he woke up scared a lot of students. This was compounded by the following year’s memories involving Harry hearing a voice through the walls, though he switched from a giant pensieve to a Memory Viewing Device to provide subtitles for the spoken Parseltongue. Those children whose parents worked for the Ministry were not exactly happy when Hagrid was hauled away so the Ministry could ‘be seen to be doing something!’

  
  


Harry got a lot of crazy looks after proving he faced down a rather enormous Basilisk and a teenage shade of the Dark Lord at twelve. When one of the students remarked that the remains were probably rather valuable, Harry smirked and said that his Basilisk hide boots  were very comfortable .

  
  


After a previous conversation with Sirius, Harry’s third year memories started with blowing up Marge and the black dog he’d seen outside. They continued with encountering Dementors on the train, Dementors on the Quidditch Pitch, and finally Dementors on the school grounds. Admitting the memories were out of order, Harry filled in some gaps with hearing about Sirius from an overheard conversation and what the students thought was a very odd focus on Ron Weasley’s pet rat. Eventually Harry showed his first real meeting with Sirius Black and the events leading to his escape. When Hermione received jealousy for her use of a Time-Turner, Harry rebuked the students involved, citing the strain it placed on her and his belief that she was only approved to use one in the hopes of a too-smart first generation witch writing herself out of existence.

  
  


Briefly showing the  attack after the World Cup that summer, Harry offered a sworn oath that he did not enter himself into the Triwizard Tournament or ask anyone else to do so. An impersonator of Alastor Moody was shown to offer advice that allowed him to complete the  first  task, and after that Andromeda extracted a memory from Neville of the book given to him by the same. Harry showed the ‘highlights’ of the second task, Fleur in a swimsuit proving a more stimulating memory than he remembered.

  
  


They had a short break then. Hoping to preemptively calm stomachs, his own included, Harry asked Dobby to bring up the case of carbonated drinks that had been sitting in a chilled room inside the Chamber of Secrets. While the students sipped at their drinks or visited the restroom, Harry sought out the girls usually seen around Cho. When he found one, he warned them that the next memory was not going to be easy for the Ravenclaw to see.

  
  


Of course, it wasn’t easy for Harry to see either. Many students were watching his face during the memory and saw his self-loathing at offering Cedric to share the cup, his hatred of Pettigrew, and the resignation as Voldemort rose out of the cauldron. His brief duel with the returned Dark Lord evoked pity, it was obviously intended to be more execution than duel. His survival was cheered, but the students were confused at first when Harry stoically showed them the memory of Crouch Jr. and Fudge’s refusal to believe Harry or investigate. Harry ended the show with the two Dementors that somehow ended up in a muggle suburb and the near-instant expulsion notice.

  
  


Looking around the students, Harry waited for them to realize what that last part meant. It seemed that Susan Bones and Daphne Greengrass were the first to understand the implications. “That makes four times Dementors have nearly killed me. The funny thing is, Voldemort has been lying low and gathering followers, so an open attempt at my life doesn’t make sense. Especially one so  damned  _ half-assed _ .”

  
  


T aking a moment to let that sink in, Harry turned to Susan Bones. After some research, Harry had been surprised at how influential people in Wizarding Britain had children in Hogwarts right now. “Susan, forgive me for singling you out, but do you know if there has even been an investigation of any of these events by the D.M.L.E.? You are the closest thing to a contact we have right now.”

  
  


Embarrassed by being put on the spot, Susan responded anyway. “Not as far as I know, Minister Fudge has shut down more than a few investigations in the last few years. My aunt has not been happy about it.”

  
  


With a sigh, Harry responded. “I’ve found a lot of people are unhappy with the Ministry, but no one ever seems to _do anything_ _about it_. Well, the Ministry has imprisoned my godfather for over a decade when a few drops of truth serum would have freed him, nearly killed me _three_ times on _**accident**_ , once on _**purpose**_ and then thrown me into a show trial simply for failing to die. Not to mention the corruption and blood purity nonsense that is so firmly entrenched.”

  
  


Many of the students being pureblood themselves began to grumble at that last remark. In response, Harry used his frustration with the Ministry to pull at his magic, using a generally wasteful technique to ‘flare’ his magic. This produced a similar effect as Senegos had exhibited, though it did serve to highlight the gulf between the two users of magic. Many of the students still fell to their knees, especially the first years, though some remained unaffected. Andromeda, Nymphadora, Hermione, and Ralion (He had joined the entirety of Hufflepuff that had come to find out the truth of what had cost Cedric his life.) were among those that seemed wholly unaffected.

  
  


After a full minute of forcing an oppressive aura on the crowd, Harry let up and spoke again. “One thing that Albus Dumbledore, Tom Riddle and myself have in common is that we are all ‘halfbloods.’ I ask that you think logically for a moment about what that means for ‘Blood Purity.’ All three of our lines produced something greater than our parents when new blood was introduced to flagging ‘pure’ bloodlines.”

  
  


If he was honest with himself, Harry still had doubts that he was in any way greater than either of his parents, but felt it was what the crowd needed to hear. “ Blood  isn’t even the only factor in becoming powerful. It helps, of course, but the density of ambient magic in early life, accumulated knowledge, and reflexes mean just as much if not more. And hard work increases our power most of all; the amount of magic every one of us has increases as our reserves refill after being spent. Why do you think Hogwarts is a boarding school? This castle has more magic in the air than anywhere else in the world.

  
  


“ In any case, I was talking about the Ministry. With everything that I know, with all the influence Lucius Malfoy has built Tom Riddle could walk into the Ministry,” A grimace fell onto Harry’s face. “ _ deal _ with the few good people that work there, and the rest would simply submit. I have no faith in the Ministry of Magic. Fudge has proven to be unreliable at  _ best _ , and murderous at worst.”

  
  


Speaking calmly with his voice reflecting his utter surety , Harry continued. “From this day forward I will no longer submit to a corrupt government. I will not start a war with the Ministry of Magic, but neither will I let them harm me or those who choose to follow me. For those of you who want to stay, we have another session planned after this one. There’s another contract you’ll need to sign to hear the ‘sales pitch,’ and more responsibilities involved, but I am also offering significant benefits as well.”

  
  


Neville Longbottom was the first to sign the new contract. In fact, of those that had remained and taken a simple binding oath to not aid Harry’s enemies so long as Harry did not partake in actions that would mark him as a dark lord, none left. When the papers had been signed, a large blackboard appeared behind Harry. Without even looking at it, words began to form, forming two columns.

Benefits

1- A new wand, without Ministry tracking charms. This wand is not guaranteed to be as precise a magical focus as an Ollivander wand.

2- A robust wardstone will be provided for those whose homes currently lack one. For those that have wards, a supplementary stone will be provided to strengthen existing wards by use of a new runic script. These stones will be produced at a rate of at least three a week.

3- Access to an entirely new (to magical Britain) subset of healing magic with superior ability to remove toxins, destroy sicknesses, and  bolster the weak.

4- The optional application of a magical tattoo currently in development with the following benefits:

A- At the cost of one-hundredth of their available magic, this tattoo will provide a constant drain on their magic, increasing the wearer’s total volume of magic safely at a rate approximately one tenth the rate of magical exhaustion  training .

B- A tracking spell allowing any captured wearer to be found, even through the most powerful of wards.

C- A well of potent, Life-reinforcing magic that can be activated at will to bolster the wearer’s magic, instantly replenishing an exhausted supply. This magic will trigger regeneration, which is different from healing and may  cause seemingly healed injuries to  require additional attention when a healer is available. This magic is expected to have passive benefits as well. The downside, since Life magic  enhances fertility, is the expected eventual failure of all contraceptives.

D- The most important feature of the tattoo however is that once the user taps that well of magic, it will allow them to survive between two and five Killing Curses.

  
  


Responsibilities

1- Your choice of two variations of a two-way loyalty oath. The Oath to a Loyal Lord magically enforces loyalty to both parties. One variation includes a magical adoption into House Potter, while the other is a more traditional loyalty oath.

2- All followers of Harry Potter will train regularly so that they can defend themselves and their loved ones. Trainers will be provided, but personal effort  will be essential.

3- Followers of Harry Potter will work together on many different projects to ensure the success of the group as a whole. Harry Potter’s group will require warriors, healers, warders, blacksmiths, enchanters, and merchants. As skilled artisans improve the situation for the entire group, specialized training will be provided that will exceed ‘Mastery’ level.

4- Followers of Harry Potter will note that joining has the eventual likelihood of drawing attention from Harry Potter’s enemies. While both Harry Potter and the group at large will work to minimize risks, they will still exist. Remember, however, that Harry Potter will **never** abandon a loyal follower no matter how long a rescue takes.

  
  


After a few moments of students absorbing what was written, Hermione stepped forward and began speaking. “The tattoo is a work in progress right now. We know everything we promised is possible, Harry’s godfather was willing to help us with a small test. A rather unfortunate deer survived three killing curses. It’s a good thing the Black’s house elf _really_ knows how to prepare venison, because it took four deer to get the magic to adhere correctly.”

  
  


In the swarm of questions that followed, Harry eventually found himself answering a question on how ‘Potter’s Mark’ as it was being called, worked. “It’s more complicated than this, but think of the Killing Curse as a form of ‘Death’ magic. The marks will contain as much ‘Life’ magic as we can store safely, and with it in your body you will resist the effects of a few hits by that curse.”

  
  


Padma Patil, however, pressed for more information. “But how are you producing the Life magic in the first place? I’ve never heard or read about it anywhere.”

  
  


With a chuckle, and remembering that everyone present would either join him or forget his sales pitch afterwards, Harry decided to tell the truth. “Well, the story of how I discovered the source isn’t really crazy compared to some of the other things I’ve done, but you might only believe it if you see it through my eyes. Two weeks ago when the Hogwarts wards went crazy, I was the cause. To shorten a long story, magical travel from one world to another is possible but requires a vast amount of power.”

  
  


Continuing on quickly, ignoring the disbelief and mentally asking the Room for a Memory Viewing Device, Harry continued. “Long story short, a group of refugees left their world that night, including a mostly mature pregnant female who will be powering our marks. Life magic is intrinsic to her species, and the  first  point  about the mark is important. Essentially, the taken magic strengthens her, and as she grows in power the magic she imparts to the marks will  be more effective . In time, these tattoos might be able to absorb up to ten Killing Curses.”

  
  


Disbelief continued to build even when Harry shared memories of both Elune’s vision and the formation of the portal. However, when Ralion followed by the other drakes tumbled through the portal in the image projected in the air, the more observant students were turning to Ral Elsington in disbelief. With a smirk, Ral began to speak when the memory was finished playing.

  
  


“ Yes, that was me. Sorry if I look a little depressed there, but my brother in blood and spirit had just agreed to serve a god for eternity in exchange for our safe passage. I don’t ever expect to see him again.”

  
  


One of the Ravenclaw students spoke up incredulously. “So all four of you are dragon animagi? You expect us to believe that?”

  
  


Responding, Ral laughed. “Of course not. I apologize for not correcting the rumor, but neither myself nor any of my species are animagi. While people on our world can turn into animals, it is a completely different process; in fact there is very little overlap in the magical traditions of Earth and Azeroth. Instead, I am an ‘Anthromagus.’”

  
  


Very quietly, Hermione chuckled and spoke quietly enough only Harry and Ron could hear her. “Wait for it…”

  
  


Sure enough, it didn’t take long for a student who knew the meaning of ‘Anthro’ to put it into context and realize what Ral really was. Thankfully, Harry had long since removed the doors to the Room of Requirement to ensure secrecy for their meeting. As the realization spread and more people began to panic, Ralion could be heard to shout: “Easy! You’re not in any danger from me, do you have any idea how _awful_ you humans taste?” _Shockingly,_ this statement did not calm the frightened students.

  
  


Sighing, Harry cast an ‘Amplifying Charm’ and got the student’s attention again. “Calm down! These dragons don’t eat anything with a soul for the same reason using forcible sacrificial magic is a  ** bad idea ** . Please remember that the only thing he’s harmed so far was Dumbledore’s Fiendfyre bomb. Despite the scales and wings, they are good people. Really, unless you’re a deer animagus or  something  similar you have nothing to fear from them. If you are, please talk to me afterwards so we can make sure there are no accidents.”

  
  


Th e night  turned out to be a fruitful  one for Harry’s organization . Though discussion continued long into the night, Harry received his first human oathsworn.  Of the seventy students that had stayed,  fifty students agreed to swear the oath, though some chose to leave.  Those that left however still agreed to never support Harry’s enemies so would be returning Sunday night. 

  
  


Of those who remained  Daphne Greengrass was a surprise.  W hen  Daphne spoke to Harry privately  she agreed to serve him if he could heal her younger sister  and father . It turned out an old blood curse had resurfaced in both her father and sister, and would bring them to early, agonizing deaths if a cure wasn’t found. Harry agreed and asked the two of them to stay afterwards, telling Daphne that even if they couldn’t heal Astoria yet, it was highly likely they could in the future.  Azeroth’s Red Dragon Aspect was the most powerful healer to ever step foot on either world, and if Harry had his way Valistraza would gain that same power in time to help the Greengrasses. 

  
  


Having learned from the last batch of oath rituals, Harry was pacing himself now and limiting  himself to  fifteen  oaths  a day. There was another contract handed out to protect their secrecy for those who wanted to swear the oath but would be forced to wait. While Harry knew the students he was taking into his service probably did not fully grasp the choice they were making, their odds of surv ival were better in his service than trapped between a corrupt Ministry and two Dark Lords. At the very least, Harry would have them taught how to defend themselves, Harry would see their homes and loved ones protected, and Harry would build an army to protect those who chose to follow him.

  
  


As Harry explained the oath ritual to those who would complete it tonight Alira, Dalistraza, and Valistraza had come up and begun examining Astoria. The Headmaster was later called in as well.

  
  


Later, Harry was finishing his explanations. “Now I’m only doing fifteen tonight because the last time I did this my magic went all wonky and wiped me out. At least I can do the oaths for you in English instead of Parseltongue.” At the concerned looks, Harry sighed and explained that part too. “Our scaly friends have a magical language called Draconic. It wasn’t easy at first, but with some effort we could understand each other. But now my Parseltongue sounds different, like the Draconic has rubbed off on it.”

  
  


Hannah Abbott asked what would hopefully be the last question. “I understand that this is permanent, but are there any benefits to the oath itself?”

  
  


Only needing a few seconds to come up with an answer, Harry responded. “I can and will order you to be immune to mind altering magic. That’s the whole reason I used this oath in the first place. If he wants to share, you can ask Ralion about it, the Imperius Curse pales before the magic he was a victim of. But that will also be one of the things you cannot share freely, because I do not want Tom Riddle to even suspect that sort of magic exists. If there’s no other questions, who wants to go first?”

  
  


Not unexpectedly, no one pushed forward to be the first. After a moment though, Katie Bell stepped forward boldly and took the oath which was helpfully displayed on a chalkboard behind Harry. Hermione was at his side again, performing the part of the ritual that involved cleaning the knife. A few moments later Katie had sworn to serve as a vassal to a Loyal Lord, received orders to only obey orders which were meant as orders, to keep Harry’s secrets, and for her mind to resist all attempts at alteration or control.

  
  


Fourteen others followed, representing three houses, including a blonde Ravenclaw a year below Harry. Luna Lovegood was a rather strange girl, who had a decidedly negative reaction when commanded to resist all mind control. She immediately fell to her knees and began screaming. A moment later Alira and Andromeda Tonks were both working on her frantically. Five minutes later the Green drake called out for anyone with experience with the mind arts to hurry over.

  
  


Looking at her Lord, Alira explained there was something clinging to the girl's mind and it was tearing at her in a  rage at being shut out. So, with Susan Bones (Who would not take the oath tonight, waiting for her best friend, Hannah to give her advice.) and Hannah Abbott holding Luna’s eyes open Alira, Andromeda, Harry and Hermione all cast a spell to enter the distraught girl’s mind. Harry admittedly was just there to be ‘muscle’ in case of violence.

  
  


What the four saw upon arriving, for a given value of ‘saw’ anyway, was some dark, shadowy monster with a somewhat fluid form rooted deeply in the girl’s mind. Not having the experience needed to be anything other than a blunt instrument, Harry ordered the others to start prying the creature loose. An advantage in mental combat was that belief and perception played a large part in the outcome. A Harry Potter that had never met Ralion and the others might never have had the belief in himself needed to do what came next, but this universe’s Harry trusted those who _believed_ in him.

  
  


With a warcry, Harry started using the ‘fast and loose’ relationship the mental realm had with reality to skip the need for a wand or incantation and simply leveled his right hand at the presence and focused on the instant where everything changed. Whatever this being was, it apparently did _not_ like lightning bolts to the face. A protracted battle began with Harry keeping the entrenched presence from interfering with the others and unleashing the power of the Storm unceasingly.

  
  


When it began to speak, no one realized their physical mouths were moving as well. In the physical world, the students were more than a little shaken when Luna Lovegood spoke in a deep voice.  “ _** This one is mine. Cease your efforts and I will allow you to continue your flawed existence.” ** _

  
  


With a snarl Harry snapped back  a response as he threw a more broad bolt through the thickest part of the oily presence that was not entirely corporeal. “You have no claim to her. Flee without harming her,  swear never to return, and I will allow you to live!”

  
  


“ _** Impudence! You are nothing compared to one such as I! I shall consume you for this insult!” ** _

  
  


“ Big words for smoke caught in a Storm.” With that, Harry gathered lightning into a whip in his left hand and began to lash at the tendrils  burrowed into Luna even as his right continued to throw burning arcs of electricity.

  
  


As he fought Harry let his anger at this entity befouling Luna’s mind fuel his magic. As the battle dragged on it seemed to Harry as if his power was growing. As he struck again and again, using a mental construct of the flying discs he’d seen at Azurewing Repose to dodge both ‘ physical’  blows a s well as bolts of darkness and crimson energy, Harry poured more and more power into his attacks. More, he refused to relinquish the expended bolts even as they tore into his enemy. Instead of dissipating the lightning began to linger in a storm of savaging wrath, inflicting more and more damage as the minutes ticked by.

  
  


With Harry taking more and more of the creature’s attention, the others were able to gradually uproot the representation of the influence it had on Luna. Near the end of the battle a great tendril finally managed to strike Harry, shattering his disc and slamming him into the ground. In response, Harry unleashed all the energy he had been building in one attack while at the same time digging the lightning that had been clawing at the presence and pushing it away as hard as he could.

  
  


It took an enormous effort, but the presence was pushed out of Luna’s mind. But it disturbed those that remained after that it did not seem to _go_ anywhere. It simply ceased to be. It wasn’t destroyed but neither did it exit the girl into the Room of Requirement. In any case the healers promptly got to work on treating the damage caused by both the creature’s expulsion and presence.

  
  


Leaving the healers with Hermione to assist them, Harry ended what was _technically_ a Legilimency attack on Luna Lovegood. In the real world, his nose had bled at some point, but of more interest was that people had moved while he was occupied. A Blue drake in his natural form had two claws resting on Harry’s back, Aurogos having been channeling the magic from drakes, whelps, a Broodmother and many of the students in shifts into Harry during the confrontation.

  
  


As Valistraza treated the after-effects of channeling too much foreign magic through himself Aurogos slumped and watched Dalistraza press warmly glowing hands to Harry’s back where his claws had been. It hadn’t been easy channeling the magic into his Lord safely, but if it improved Harry’s chances he was happy to make the effort. After a few moments he convinced his Lord to use the Room to project his perception of whatever just happened. After watching it through, he growled wordlessly.

  
  


“ I’d say it was some form of Void creature my Lord. I don’t really know how that could have happened, they don’t just walk into our plane of reality on their own. Usually these kinds of creatures are forcibly summoned and more often than not their summoners are the first to die.”

  
  


One of the Weasley twins spoke up then. “I remember hearing about Luna’s mother dying. Some kind of spell crafting experiment went wrong and killed her in front of Luna. Poor girl was never the same after.”

  
  


Aurogos actually had to take several deep breaths and count to ten inside his own head before he said something _unkind._ “That… is the height of irresponsibility. Luna and your world are both incredibly lucky that _idiotic meddler_ did not cause the wholesale destruction of your world with that. Fuck! Monday I’m teaching a lecture on the dangers of magic just for this! Play with forces outside our physical universe like there’s no danger _at all!_ With her daughter in the room! Might just as easily have summoned a Nathrezim and gotten everyone on the planet killed!”

  
  


Katie, who had quietly watched what was going on and gladly donated her magic when asked, spoke up then. “What is a Nathrezim? If you don’t mind telling us, Headmaster.”

  
  


Taking another breath to finish calming himself, Aurogos smiled at her, making an effort to conceal his numerous teeth as he did so. Normally he would have already changed back to his  human form, but changing shape while wounded was just asking for trouble so he would wait for the healers to clear him.

“The Nathrezim are a race of demons that have been folded into the Burning Legion. Essentially they’re infiltrators and spies that specialize at turning nations against each other. Sadly, they are _very_ good at it. During the height of the mundane world’s Cold War, a single Nathrezim of any intelligence would have been enough to see to your world burn. I think it would take more than one now, but the problem is that once you get one on your world it can summon others.

  
  


“ Before you ask, the Burning Legion is a vast army of demons that sweep across the cosmos destroying every world in their path. Ten-thousand years ago they invaded my birth world and were only forced back at great cost. We lost eight tenths of the landmass and lives beyond count. The Legion exists only to destroy, kill, and corrupt. You can’t negotiate, you can’t bargain. All they want is the world destroyed and everyone on it either dead or suffering eternally. The only way to survive when they invade is to unite your world and fight them.

  
  


“ Honestly, th e Legion is part of the reason  I want every student to be able to defend themselves and  why I’m going to remove the Ministry from Hogwarts as soon as possible; having a generation of magic users helpless is a  _ disaster  _ just waiting to happen.”

  
  


Knowledge that there was life beyond their world, and not all of it friendly was sobering for the forty students that remained. Gradually they started to break up as they either signed a contract to take the loyalty oath  when possible or forfeit the day’s memories or learned a spell to  hide their new bracelets bearing the Potter family crest.

  
  


Harry provided exits near the various common rooms, and for the Greengrass sisters and Tracey Davis, who was Daphne’s best friend, directly into their room. After four full years of the odors and sounds produced by his dorm-mates Harry had been decidedly jealous when he learned that Slytherin allowed the students private or semi-private rooms on their preference.

  
  


Aurogos was surprised when his Lord without asking partitioned the Room to give him a space with a large warm pool and dragon-accessible bed and asked his dragonsworn to take care of him even as a similar room appeared for himself. As Harry was being helped towards his own bath he paused a moment and concentrated. The Room of Requirement expanded and dozens of identical rooms appeared each containing a large hot tub and bed. (Except for one that obviously made use of expansion charms and had a pool sized for Valistraza.)

  
  


Aurogos waved away his only male Dragonsworn that seemed torn between giving him a hand  or chatting up Katie Bell; he had no problem allowing Jason the evening or night  off if he wished it. The drake was amused when Naomi and Sarah levitated him out of the room and into the soothing hot water easily. It was hard to guess how much of their power increase was from diligent hard work, the Dragonsworn bond, or just living in Hogwarts Castle with the portal spilling so much foreign magic into their world. Whatever the cause,  he was glad to see  all three of his dragonsworn had grown magically since swearing their allegiance. Their decision might have been made without proper deliberation, but Aurogos had been trying hard to ensure they never regretted it.

  
  


While the Blue drake didn’t expect a repeat of their first time together, it was still nice to enjoy their company as the water that was close to boiling soothed his injuries. Thankfully using his own body as a  conduit to reinforce his Lord hadn’t caused life-threatening injuries,  just a kind of tissue damage that was decidedly painful. Aurogos fell asleep with his head resting on a pillow on the edge of the tub, sticking charms on both while Naomi and Sarah carefully cleaned his face with the hot water.

  
  


Even though Aurogos had understood the reason why Alira had immediately latched onto Harry Potter as a source of safety, he had looked down upon her, though only in his own mind. But now, nodding off warm and safe he found himself perfectly content to serve his Lord and teach magic. When he woke and found himself dry in the bed with a pretty girl on either side under his wings, Aurogos could only reflect on how much better his life had turned out since making his choice to follow Harry Potter.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  
  
  


A/N: Anthromagus is a twist on ‘Animagus’ I first saw in the story ‘ **On An Island In The Sun** ’ by **Rorschach's Blot.** It’s a short story that I would highly recommend.

  
  


This chapter still feels clunky and a little rough to me, even though I’ve gone over it about seven times now. My muse was unhappy with me as I was writing it, but oddly the next chapter came much easier. Chapter 21 also feels better with just one editing pass than this one already. Meh. 

  


Anyway, please review! I enjoy every one and they motivate me to keep writing! 

  
  
  



	21. Chapter 21: Enter the Goblins

Thanks to hkurtz2013 on fanfiction for his work on this chapter! 

Chapter 21: Enter the Goblins _or_ ‘Top Ten Ways to Recognize a Failed Ambush’

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


As far as amenities go, the Room of Requirement was hard to beat. Jason Atreides knew this from experience, more than one late night of research in the last few weeks had ended  with himself and the others sleeping in the Room. His current companion, the Gryffindor a year below him, (though it turned out she was only about six months younger) was finding this out right now. After the excitement last night involving the exorcism of Luna Lovegood, Jason had spent several hours telling Katie Bell about his experiences with and impressions of the Potter Dragonflight. On a comfortable couch in front of a fire Katie had simply fallen asleep leaning against him as he told her about being a dragonsworn. Not wanting to wake her and finding her presence pleasant, Jason had simply flicked his wand to turn their couch into a bed and drifted off, feeling just as exhausted as she was after a long day. While much of draconic culture still seemed strange to him, their emphasis on physical touch was hard to argue wit h.

  
  


If Jason hadn’t been aware of everything Aurogos had gone through before swearing himself to Harry Potter, he might have been jealous of his Patron and the relationship he had with Naomi and Sarah. As it was, he understood they had skipped much of the typical courtship rituals in their search for something to hold onto in the aftermath of massive changes in their lives and near deaths from Fiendfyre. (Jason had researched the Headmaster’s spell in the Room’s library when he had the chance. What he learned made _him_ want to go have ‘I didn’t die!’ sex.)

  
  


In any case, Katie was enjoying what was probably the greatest shower ever imagined right now after Dobby had been kind enough to bring her a clean uniform. If he was honest with himself, Jason had enjoyed spending time with her, and was already thinking of ways to engineer more time together. Now that he thought about it, Harry had mentioned those flying discs he saw at Azurewing Repose and that they had been at least a match for his Firebolt. Perhaps he should copy the tome gifted to his Lord by proxy and see about crafting a couple of them…

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Not much later, nearly every inhabitant of the Room of Requirement was filing out of their individual rooms and towards a massive table where a big breakfast was waiting. Even those without a dragon’s sense of smell were lured by the wonderful  scents . As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, Harry mused on how he had grown used to sleeping soundly next to Hermione and Alira. He had so much more energy since that had started, no longer were nightmares constantly keeping him awake. Ever since the third task restful, uninterrupted sleep had become impossible (Though admittedly nightmares had long been a problem for him.) and it felt great to simply enjoy restful sleep again.

  
  


The mental battles occurring nightly did have him worried, but both Alira and Hermione had said they were almost completely safe while they pushed back the nightly mental probes. Harry had extracted a promise from them to retreat behind his mental defenses the moment they needed to. Knowing that Hermione wasn’t bound to obey, in a moment where it was just the three of them, Harry had asked them to be as safe as possible. In the quiet moments that followed he had told both of them that they were important to him, that he cared greatly for both of them. That memory of sitting with the two of them had become fuel for his Patronus spell. Even now as he finished waking for the day with a cup of tea, thinking of that time spent with Hermione leaning into his side with her hand in his while the other gently stroked the Green dragon that had curled around them both gave him a pleasant warmth.

  
  


While he had been tempted to remain in bed with his best friend and a very friendly drake, there was a lot to do today. Aurogos’s research group had decided on the expansion scheme for Potter Manor, and Harry would need to be present for that. Not only to help provide the needed magical power, but because it was his land they would be altering, everyone expected the procedure to go more smoothly with Harry’s magic in the mix. First though, there were a number of errands to run in Diagon Alley. Harry himself would be visiting Gringotts Bank to find out everything he could about his financial situation and that of his family. He expected to empty his trust vault of silver sickles, if nothing else.

  
  


Professor McGonagall would accompany him and she would withdraw the needed coin to pay ‘Senas Lothar’ and ‘Aurogon Salonar’ for their work at Hogwarts. Both would promptly be melting down their paychecks to pay for items in the muggle world. Senastrasz would be visiting Garrick Ollivander in his shop to deliver a sample of ‘Alexstrasza’s Boughs’, hopefully tempting the wand maker to assist them with several tasks.

  
  


While the wands Aurogos and the others had crafted from the living wood of the Alexstrasza’s Boughs tree at Potter Estate were functional, they could certainly be improved. In addition, the trees that grew from the unused wands were very interesting and could likely be used for wands, but not in the same manner as the original tree. So far, the saplings had ‘rejected’ cores according to the wand team. Additionally the spear Harry wanted to craft (And had become rather dangerous with while training in the Room of Requirement.) had the possibility of incorporating a mage staff as well but creating ‘a wand, but longer and with a magically reactive blade at the end’ was something that would benefit from Ollivander’s expertise.

  
  


(Several of the magical trees had been planted at Potter Estate and magically grown to eight feet tall. Harry had been caught cackling madly one day as he researched a runic construct that could use nearby sources of magic to directly attack invaders by gathering ‘loose’ magic into a concentrated burst. The next day all three ‘Stormbark’ trees had been planted near the hill where the manor had once stood, and would again.)

  
  


Ron would be leading the Weasley siblings back to the Burrow just before lunch. He had an official offer for his eldest brother, Bill, to be permanently employed at Hogwarts in three roles. First, Bill would be joining in ‘de-lousing’ the castle of the various cursed objects that had been hidden throughout the school. Second, he would assist the warding team in their quest to make Hogwarts an invincible fortress. And third, he would be teaching a weekly class on the dangers, merits, and methods of curse breaking. That he would likely be recruited into the Potter Dragonflight went without saying.

  
  


As the meal progressed, Harry found himself amused at the treatment Jason Atreides and Katie Bell were receiving. The Tonks couple was giving the two disapproving looks, especially Andromeda. The dragons however were giving the two no special consideration despite the general seriousness of relationships in draconic culture. Harry chuckled out loud when Jason revealed the secret to Katie, and the rest of the table as well. “The dragons know we slept next to each other without having sex. I don’t know exactly how their sense of smell works, but apparently magic lets them penetrate almost any method of concealing scents.”

  
  


With Andromeda looking slightly embarrassed the group continued breakfast. Half an hour later, Aurogon was informing the staff at what was to become a weekly meeting that he would be out of the castle for the day. When asked, he simply replied that he had purchased a small property and would be laying wards and basic expansions. Since the location required a lengthy portkey trip, Flitwick would be left in charge of the castle until Minerva returned from Gringotts.

  
  


Not long after that, Aurogos was opening a portal to Potter Estate down in the Chamber of Secrets with his dragonsworn, Hermione, and several others joining them. Alira and a small company of Red and Green whelps stepped through as well, carrying with them the three ‘Blackstone’ trees.

  
  


The saplings grown from their resident Black dragon were about to prove their usefulness. Professor Sprout and Neville Longbottom had both examined the extruded soil and found it both rich and indistinguishable from natural volcanic soil. After the expansion of Potter Estate the existing area near the manor ruins would find itself an island surrounded by miles of a pit hundreds of feet deep because while the expansion created space, it did not create soil to place in the new void.

  
  


It would take time to fill, and much of it would be filled from other sources, but the Blackstone trees would help alleviate the need for so much soil to fill the space created. After the expansion, a number of other wands would find themselves grown into trees as well.

  
  


Harry was leaving through Professor McGonagall’s private Floo Connection along with Senastrasz. For security he was wearing his invisibility cloak, though he would remove it and switch to a disillusionment charm before reaching Gringotts and then remove that charm just before stepping foot onto the Goblin’s bank. He and the deputy Headmistress would be flanked by Nymphadora Tonks and Talion in his human guise, while Ralion and Caliona would follow their progress directly overhead from within the Twilight Realm.

  
  


(When Caliona had gained the ability to create small, temporary portals to the realm she was intrinsically bound to, Ralion only allowed himself a moment of jealousy before redoubling his efforts to master the abilities intrinsic to Twilight Dragons. Caliona had helped his efforts as well, her help proving even more useful than Alira’s simply because though their  capability to open portals or simply fade into another  plane of reality* were similar, the Twilight Realm and the Emerald Dream (Or just the Dream on Earth.) were very different places.)

  
  


With a modified speak-stone, a common communication tool from Azeroth, the two drakes would keep a close eye on Harry, though they would wait to step onto the bank’s ward perimeter, or rather the place it began in the physical world. So far at least, experiments had shown that Hogwarts’ wards could be bypassed by moving through the Twilight Realm, but whether the same was true for the Goblin’s defenses was unknown. At least half an hour after Harry entered the bank Ralion was going to move past the ward boundary with Talion observing the reaction, if any.

  
  


Not long after Aurogos and his cohort for the day stepped through a portal to Potter Estate, Harry followed Professor McGonagall through the Floo under his cloak. With luck, no one would notice the disturbance directly behind his Head of House. Talion and Dora were already waiting in the Alley. Nymphadora Tonks would never admit it, but she found herself jealous at the way Talion in his human form simply melted into the crowd. It was like he had some passive spell that simply let him move unnoticed.

  
  


Harry found himself unable to pick Talion out of the crowd either as he made his way to Gringotts. Dora, while generally blending in, wasn’t a problem, but after donning plain black robes, with material and style to place him in the upper-middle class financially, it was as if the Black drake could become invisible. As he walked through Diagon Alley, Harry found himself running his fingers over the holster containing both his new Basilisk core wand and his old Phoenix-feather as well.

  
  


After much examination it seemed that his old wand was just a wand, though it wasn’t a great fit for him now. In a pocket he had three trunks, each with a space expansion charm and a coin-specific summoning charm that would activate when the trunks were opened; this would hopefully get around Gringotts ban on using a wand without angering the Goblins.

  
  


Thankfully Harry reached Gringotts without issue. Two hours later, as he rode a cart down to his trust vault, he found himself refraining from grinding his teeth. Harry found himself revisiting his initial views on the Goblins. Not only did they seem to enjoy making life miserable for others, they also had acted as if Harry requesting all information on the deposits and withdrawals from his vault had been a personal insult. Harry could admit he had fallen into the same opinion of Goblins as many Muggleborn, that they were a noble people who had been wronged by arrogant wizards.

  
  


With more exposure to the species however, Harry could only fault the wizards of antiquity for allowing the Goblin Nation a monopoly on the banking system. During the process of acquiring records Harry had heard from the small, carefully enchanted stone that had been shrunken and placed just inside his ear canal that Ralion and Caliona had moved into the Bank without apparently triggering an alarm. They had stayed away from him until he moved into the tunnels however.

  
  


After Harry emptied his trust vault, he retained five Galleon coins to bribe his cart operator. “I’d like to visit my family vault. Yes, Ripsnarl, I am aware I am not allowed to withdraw anything at this time. I simply want to see it with my own eyes.”

  
  


Harry had taken a quick glance at the documents he’d been provided. While Albus Dumbledore had not stolen from his accounts, he had not bothered to either manage them himself or allow someone else to do it for him. All of the Potter family’s incoming revenue had tapered off over time, their businesses either failing or managers not paying what they ought to. To make matters worse, all the legal documents needed to prove Harry’s ownership or partnership had simply been thrown into the family vault by his father.

  
  


While understandable that James Potter would have focused his efforts on the war and then protecting his family, Harry found himself annoyed that so many resources that he had a use for right now were denied him. An especially bitter thought in his head said that it wasn’t as if James had succeeded in keeping his family safe either. For the life of him, Harry could not understand why his family had not fled England instead of just hiding under a Fidelius Charm.

  
  


With the amount of gold in the two vaults, it should have been possible to buy a property anywhere in the world and then cast a Fidelius _there_ instead. (Harry suddenly found himself wondering what would happen if he tried to use the Fidelius on a small sailing ship. An ocean faring ship might have been a safer refuge than fleeing to another country, and with a House Elf and gardening trunks it was easy to be self-sufficient.) Possible reasons why all came back to Dumbledore’s meddling and tendency towards mind control.

  
  


In any case, Harry _had_ emptied his trust vault. It turned out there wasn’t any interest being accrued (And boy, did the Goblins get _rude_ when Harry had asked about that. Apparently they felt no need to do anything other than _charge_ his family account for the privilege of storing his gold.) so it seemed pointless to leave it there when he could use the silver for future oath rituals and the gold for purchases in the muggle world. He was making a stop at the primary vault just in case he needed to make a clandestine withdrawal. The Goblin’s attitudes had given him a bad feeling. _Maybe I should look into what actually caused all those goblin rebellions Binns always goes on about..._

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


While Aurogos oversaw the preparations to expand Potter Estate, an action that would give them much needed farmland in the future, Hermione found herself chatting idly with her parents as she followed one dragonsworn or another around, making notes and double-checking their work. Their target result was five square miles, (Just short of 13 square kilometers.) but to accomplish this required twelve rune stones set in very precise locations. This was most definitely a ‘measure twice, cut once’ project, so they were going to check the locations and the stones themselves at least five times for mistakes.

  
  


After the expansion was stable, work would begin on stabilizing the soil around the edges of the new pit and placing the Blackstone trees for maximum effect. A number of the new magical trees would be going in over the next few weeks, including a single ‘Kingsleaf,’ the tree grown from a Twilight wand core. While the magic produced by the tree had proved chaotic enough to disrupt ward schemes over time, the other trees would serve to temper the energy, balancing it out enough to be useful.

  
  


Every other tree save the Kingsleaf (Except the trees grown from Bronze and Nether dragon wands; the former still had yet to do anything other than grow leaves and the latter was proving difficult to interact with, thanks to apparently not fully existing in any layer of reality they could currently access.) took after the parent tree in that they drew magic from the environment, altered it just a little and released a bit more magic than they drew in as they metabolized sunlight.

  
  


A number of different ecosystems were planned but setting those up would mostly need to wait until they had acquired enough dirt. One eighth of the expanded area was slated for a lake, which was expected to fill on its own from groundwater and rain, and a half square mile section on the northern side was slated to become a permanent snow laden forest with the help of the yet-unnamed trees grown from Blue dragon core wands. Most of the area, however, was slated to become grasslands stocked with Talbuk and whatever hybrid creatures grew the best. Alexstrasza’s Boughs would be planted in great numbers, though the method of propagating cuttings had surprised the humans greatly. Each cutting taken needed to be dipped in blood from a Red dragon while they channeled magic into the cutting for it to root.

  
  


As for the manor building itself, the rubble would need to be cleared soon. The stone and as much of the material as possible would be recycled and used to construct the new home. For the remainder fresh stone would be quarried, and there were several locations that looked like good sources. An idea they would be experimenting with was to mix Earth and Azeroth stone along with the stones from the broken manor. With luck, this would help with weaving powerful enchantments into the structure, intensifying the strengthening effects of the wardstones.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Senas wasn’t sure what to think of Garrick Ollivander. To be honest, the various stories about the old man seemed to indicate he enjoyed unnerving people. As he stepped into the man’s shop, he found himself wishing Aurogos had the time to make this contact instead. Senastrasz wasn’t exactly awful at dealing with people, though he _did_ tend to be more blunt than mortals appreciated. No, it was the Blue’s skill with magic that the Red drake wished for just then. There were obviously wards of some sort in the room, but as he calmly stepped towards Garrick Ollivander, he could only say they felt both strange and familiar at the same time.

  
  


As Ollivander walked over to him, Senas got through a simple greeting and ignored the way the man’s eyes glanced to his ears, obviously seeing through the glamour Harry had applied to disguise them. The old man just watched him silently as Senas introduced himself and offered to host the man in Hogwarts castle for a time in exchange for help with a few projects. Desperately wishing he had studied magic more than he had, the drake in disguise wracked his brain trying to figure out what he could from his admittedly under-practiced ability to sense magic.

  
  


As he removed a fair-sized limb, carefully cut off the original scarlet-leafed tree with a sharp saw, Senas kicked himself mentally. While Ollivander’s eyes briefly lit up at the sample offered to entice him into cooperation with their group, Senas used a touch of magic to alter his mortal form’s sense of smell, enhancing it to the levels he enjoyed in his natural form. Again the drake found himself confused by what his senses reported. Ollivander seemed to be fully human, and didn’t seem to be using any sort of magic to alter his appearance. Still, his scent was not quite right for what he appeared to be.

  
  


It took a long time to place the scent, longer than he would have liked, but eventually a forgotten memory returned. It revolved around a Red dragon and her dragonsworn that had visited his Broodmother while he was still a whelp. With a snort he came back to himself, realizing he had spaced out for a few moments. “Mr. Ollivander, would you be so kind as to tell me the name of your Patron?”

  
  


With a smile on his face, Garrick Ollivander responded. “I was starting to wonder if you would figure it out! What took so long?”

  
  


Chuckling, Senas responded and accepted the offered chair. “I’m afraid I am still rather young by the standards of my people. More, I chose a path that did not include much magical education. Please tell me what you can, I understand that you might not be able to share a lot of things due to your orders.”

  
  


Laughing, Garrick flicked his wand and summoned a tea pot even as he closed his store down for the day, expecting this to be something more important than selling a wand or two. “Indeed. In fact, I find that I can’t even confirm your guess. I don’t think this outcome was expected.”

  
  


Briefly imaging what one of Aurogos’s dragonsworn would be able to say in a similar situation, Senas sipped his tea briefly. “In that case, take a sip of tea when I guess the suffix of your Patron’s name: gos, gosa, dormu, dormi? Strasza or straz?”

  
  


Senas found himself rather relieved when Garrick indicated his Patron was a male Red dragon. It likely meant Ollivander’s Patron would only become an enemy if he found out the parentage of Valistraza’s clutch before they had convinced him to leave her be. In any case, Senas spent the next hour playing a guessing game with the old wand maker (And given the fact that dragonsworn could live for a millennium easily, he could very well be  far  older than he looked.) before he ran out of questions he could think to ask. Of the most pertinent things learned was that there were other dragonsworn, and that the dragon they were bound to was not well. Mr. Ollivander had indicated there was some sort of injury that had never healed, and the individual was in some sort of stasis.

  
  


When he was out of questions, Garrick agreed to bring his Patron to Hogwarts on Tuesday with the promise they would do everything possible to heal him. At the end of their meeting, Senastrasz imposed on his host for a strong Disillusionment Charm, admitting that he suspected there might be trouble in the Alley today and that his preferred form of combat involved the use of a sword and shield. (Both tucked into slightly modified holsters on his forearms.) Upon parting with Ollivander, at the man’s request for his real name, he indulged him. “My name is Senastrasz, Garrick Ollivander. I look forward to seeing you again soon.”

  
  


As his now invisible guest departed, Garrick chuckled to himself. Rising from his comfortable chair he quickly wrote out a notice to be printed in the Daily Prophet, explaining Monday as his last day open for some time as he would be researching new materials for his wands. After that, he walked into the basement of his shop. Protected by a Fidelius Charm, the small room beyond his workshop contained among other things a communication device of which only two existed in all the world.

  
  


There would be three, but his two fellow dragonsworn under Vordistrasz were a married couple. The device which he was now carefully activating was slightly similar to the communication mirrors used by the Marauders, but different as well. Both the targets would hear his voice in their minds, and if they were sleeping they would be shaken to wakefulness. Disregarding the time difference, not even bothering to figure out what the time was in western Canada, Garrick sent a small jolt of magic through first. When he was sure he had their attention, he sent a simple message. “Vordistrasz is no longer alone. If we’re willing to take a chance I think we can help him. Contact me when you can. If you agree with me, we need to place him in an expanded container and get him to England.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Meanwhile Ron and his siblings were stepping through the Floo in the burrow not long before lunch. Molly was more than a little surprised, but was happy to see her children. Between hugs the twins handed her a basket full of vegetables explaining they were from the farm on the school grounds and the house elves that grew the food wanted a second opinion on the results of their new farming method. The vegetables turned out to be high quality and were promptly put to use in a much larger lunch. Molly had been expecting Bill to visit today, he had mentioned meeting someone involving a job offer when he asked permission to have the meeting at the Burrow.

  
  


Half an hour later, first Arthur and then Bill showed up. They had a pleasant meal together and as it was winding down Ron started to explain why they were there, pulling out a relatively simple employment contract. “I don’t know if you heard Bill, but on Monday we had what was probably the most interesting lesson on magic I’ve had at Hogwarts. The new Headmaster has a strong belief that magic is incredible and learning it should be exciting. If not for the trace I’d show you the ice spell I learned, I’ve gotten pretty good at it and the fire one, though that one isn’t the best to use indoors.

  
  


“ A nyway, the point is that before the lesson the Headmaster warded the walls to withstand the new spells being cast at them. On his first try, in addition to making everyone see spots and hard of hearing, Harry’s lightning bolt went through the wall. It turns out there was a cursed item in the wall that was disrupting the wards, and it must have been there for centuries. Headmaster Salonar examined it briefly, discovered it had been created using human sacrifice and immediately destroyed it.”

  
  


Ron looked at his eldest brother, and the rest of the table followed his gaze. “I’m sure you can guess why he wants a curse-breaker on staff. But even after the Headmaster gets the castle ‘clean’ he’ll still have a job for you. Salonar told me he’s going to be revamping the castle’s wards since there’s two Dark Lords running around, which isn’t a small job. You’d also be teaching a weekly class and just generally helping keep the students in line. It’d be great to have you around the castle Bill, you up for it?”

  
  


Trying to decide how to break the bad news to his family, Bill spoke after a moment. “I’m sorry, but I'm still under contract with Gringotts for a year. I can’t get away without paying a huge fine.”

  
  


He was surprised when Ron waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. Salonar knows it isn’t cheap, but having someone trustworthy to help him with the wards is worth it. In fact, that reminds me: Dad, do we have apparition wards on the Burrow?”

  
  


When his father replied negatively, Ron just opened a small mirror and quickly relayed a message to Hermione, who would relay it to Harry when he was done at Gringotts. After Ron put away the mirror, Bill spoke again. “Ron, don’t you find it strange that the Headmaster sent you to give me the offer and contract?”

  
  


“ Not really. I know he’s been very busy since taking the position, and today he’s laying some finicky wardstones. I’ve gotten to know him and the people that came to the school with him, and they’re all good people.”

  
  


The wince that crossed Bill’s face caught everyone’s attention. “Ah. Would that include Senas Lothar, the fool who’s teaching metalworking and has pissed off every Goblin in Gringotts?!”

  
  


A moment later Bill explained his statement a little better. “I’m sorry, but when the Goblins found out that Hogwarts was going to be teaching that subject, it was like someone kicked a beehive. Magical metalworking is _their_ art, and they’re mad as hell that a wizard is daring to teach it.”

  
  


Ron scoffed at that. “I’m taking that class, and I know Senas. He hasn’t stolen anything from the Goblins, hasn’t taken their techniques. Are the Goblins just pissed that wizards might create something just as good or even better than they’ve been able to forge? Because Bill, I’ll tell you right now that the  scythe the Headmaster forged for himself is a far greater weapon than the Sword of Gryffindor Harry used to slay the Basilisk. If the Goblins are unhappy with that fact, all the more reason to get away from them.”

  
  


An argument began to brew at that until there was a thunderous bang from outside the back door. Arthur Weasley and his eldest son drew their wands and went to investigate, returning moments later with a Harry Potter that was covered in blood and frantically attempting to convince everyone that he was fine. And he was, not one drop of the blood was his.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


As Harry Potter left Gringotts bank having slipped under his invisibility cloak after parting from the cart with his entire trust vault in his pockets he noticed that there were a few shady people loitering around the entrance. Naturally suspecting something, he drew his Basilisk heartstring wand and waited. There were ten people arrayed around the perimeter, doing a markedly better job at being discrete than the Order of the Phoenix had proved capable of. But it was still obvious that they were watching for someone to exit the bank, the way they kept a close eye on the steps gave them away. Unsure what to do, Harry paused and whispered, knowing the speak-stone in his collar would let his sworn hear him.

  
  


Sadly, the time for planning ended when Minerva McGonagall exited the bank, fury clear on her face and in the lack of attention she gave to the world around her. When the first spells started to fly towards her, Harry didn’t think twice before throwing a shield in front of her. And like that, battle was joined. Still invisible save for small flashes when he moved, Harry started casting spells. Another Harry Potter, in his first real battle might have stuck to stunning or disarming spells. This one however, abandoned that notion the instant he saw a potentially lethal spell speed towards his Professor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark haired man with orange eyes send a bolt of dark orange flame towards one attacker with the wand in his right hand even as the blade in his left decapitated another.

  
  


Thankfully only a minute after the spells had started flying, the civilians had fled the immediate area. Calling on a variation of the Air spell he had learned on Monday Harry used it to summon a massive downdraft, directed at the fools who dared to attack his Head of House; the incantation was lost in the howling winds. Knowing that the winds had undoubtedly revealed that someone was hiding under an invisibility cloak, Harry quickly changed his wand to his left hand and drew a sleek curved sword with his right. Sadly the blade would give his position away, but at least Harry was able to keep his rather distinctive wand hidden from view with the sleeve of his cloak.

  
  


After learning the history of Gryffindor’s blade, it seemed wise not to carry it with him inside the Bank. Instead, carried within an expanded pocket was a blade Senastrasz had forged to practice with the methods of forging Quel’Serrar. It wasn’t especially magical, more of an experiment that would eventually be melted down and reforged into something better, but it remained sharp and well-balanced. As Harry darted towards one attacker choosing speed over stealth, he saw another moving their wand to cast at him and in a moment of focus, he summoned a whip of lightning at the poor evil bastard.

  
  


(A strength of the spells taught by Aurogos, and indeed the reason they were chosen, was that they were basic, elementary you could say. They produced or controlled an element in a specific way, but with practice and focus their effect could be altered at the caster’s whim.)

  
  


Harry’s lightning whip was not as powerful as it would become with more practice, but it still left the fool on the ground twitching madly and bereft of a number of his body’s functions. So far, Talion had killed or incapacitated two, Harry had left two hurt on the ground, but when he reached the third man there was only the barest instant of hesitation before the magically sharpened blade removed his head. Spinning around, Harry saw that bolts of dark blue flames were being thrown from a nearby rooftop, Caliona and Ralion supporting the destruction of the ambush.

  
  


“You two on the roof, disengage and only attack if we need support.” With that, Harry banished his sword into the gut of another attacker, summoning it back to him as soon as it had fully penetrated the man’s torso. Looking around he saw that Nymphadora had restrained another man, as had McGonagall. Talion had killed another. The last attempted to flee in the face of more resistance than he expected for murdering a school teacher as she exited a bank. A flick of Harry’s wrist sent the lightning whip towards the coward and drug him screaming towards Harry Potter, still shrouded behind his cloak. Or, as far as the wannabe assassin could see, drug him towards a _very_ bloody sword floating in the air as he screamed.

  
  


Wanting to know for sure who was behind this and what they wanted, a summoning spell drew the other victim of the lightning whip towards him as well. A moment of quick thinking had his trunk of knuts open below his cloak, and both twitching assassins roughly dropped inside. That done, Harry dashed over to his Professor who was bleeding from a head wound and looked markedly unsteady.

  
  


Quietly ordering all his people to head home, he whispered to the Professor and gently took hold of her, the trunk containing his prisoners again shrunken in his pocket. Only a moment later Harry had apparated to Potter Estate, glad the expansion had yet to take place. Using the speak-stones, Harry let Aurogos know what had transpired and requested Andromeda and Dalistraza to come to them as quickly as possible.

  
  


Thankfully members of the Potter family were able to freely apparate to the grounds, and Harry was very relieved when one by one or two by two everyone returned safe. Nymphadora said she should go inform the Aurors, but agreed to contact her boss privately instead of going through the normal channels after objections were raised. Everyone was relieved when Minerva was announced to simply have a concussion and some minor bleeding, a few potions and bed rest and she would be fine to teach class come Monday.

  
  


Knowing he wasn’t the best choice to question the prisoners with his temper flaring more than a little, Harry handed the trunk to Aurogos with the instruction to learn the truth. This was made easier by the discovery of a vial of Veritaserum found among Snape’s collection of dubiously legal concoctions. With everything being taken care of Harry left to visit the Burrow but allowed his anger to seep into the apparition, using much more power than needed and causing a rather loud sound.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


With a sigh, Harry shouted over the well-meaning chaos that the Weasley’s kitchen had descended into. “I am fine! I wasn’t so much as grazed by anything in the fight, none of this blood is mine!”

  
  


After a few more moments in which Harry had accepted a glass of water and sat down with the family Harry took a deep breath to try to regain some calm. “I’m sorry to scare you all, I intended to just show up and talk to Bill for a moment. After Dumbledore’s real self was revealed, I had to visit Gringotts to get some information about my family’s finances.

  
  


“ Professor McGonagall was my escort since she needed to run a few errands as well, I was invisible pretty much the whole time and the only people who saw me were the Goblins. When McGonagall stepped out of the Bank, ten people attacked her with lethal spells, I don’t know who they are or why they attacked her, but she’s fine. Or rather, she will be with potions and rest, it seems like she got clipped with a Bludgeoning curse.

  
  


“ There’s really not much else to say, I don’t think anyone saw Harry Potter, just a guy fighting under an invisibility cloak. And yes, I learned to apparate early, but with Voldemort and Dumbledore lurking around somewhere it seemed like something I should know how to do. I trust everyone here can keep this a secret?”

  
  


Thankful for the round of agreement, Harry continued. “I’d love to stay and visit, but I need to head to -.” Pausing, Harry worked his jaw for a moment. “That was weird, in any case, I need to go to a place and help lay some wardstones so the magic doesn’t hurt anyone? I guess that’s as precise as I can be. Bill, if you don’t mind I’d like to speak with you if you have a moment.”

  
  


With that, Harry stepped outside and the eldest Weasley son followed. Once outside and out of view of the windows Harry removed a shrunken trunk from a pocket and triggered the rune that controlled the exterior size. Stepping in after him, Bill was rather shocked when they were apparated, with Harry apparently not being concerned at all. “Sorry, I lent a friend my cloak and he’s moved us for the moment. I’m feeling a little paranoid today.”

  
  


Inside the trunk was a comfortable sitting room, and both of them sat in plush chairs with a small table between. Bill was the first to speak. “You tried to say you were traveling to a place under Fidelius earlier. Who cast the charm?”

  
  


“ I  did. The Fidelius is a very handy piece of magic, the only downside is that you can only hold one secret. The individual who holds this secret has my absolute trust. But for now, let’s get to what I wanted to talk about. If you agree to sign the contract to work at Hogwarts I’m going to pay your early termination fee with Gringotts. In exchange I’d like you to help me with laying wards for my home and others as well.”

  
  


Bill’s pride got in the way for a while. Eventually Harry’s argument broke through however. “Bill, there are two Dark Lords roaming England right now, the Ministry is corrupt and tried to murder me over the summer, and I have more going on than I’m going to share without you swearing a two-way loyalty oath. Having someone with your expertise around is easily worth fifteen hundred galleons. Consider this your recruitment to a group that will see Voldemort and his followers destroyed. It isn’t like we can trust the Ministry to handle that even if he dropped dead tomorrow.”

  
  


After a little more discussion, Bill agreed and Harry tapped his lapel’s speak-stone twice. Another apparition later both of them were climbing the ladder out of the trunk and Harry was counting out the coins needed to cancel Bill’s contract. Once inside, Bill announced to cheers that he was going to Hogwarts. Harry quickly said goodbye and apparated to Potter Estate.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


Preparations for the expansion had been put on hold when Harry showed up bringing both wounded and prisoners. When he returned from talking with Bill they were back on track and nearly complete. Glad to be doing something with his hands, Harry got to work preparing the supports to hold the soil in place and a series of charms to protect the existing lake and its denizens when the expansion took place. For now keeping busy seemed like the best idea, if only to keep the battle from consuming his thoughts. Harry had killed before, but Quirrell had been more of a reflex than anything else, a panicked reaction to the man’s attempts to murder him directly. It wasn’t that he regretted killing to protect his professor, but Harry was sure that even with Hermione and Alira next to him he would still have nightmares tonight.

  
  


He was grateful that the two of them stayed close to him during the day, never crowding but there if he needed them. Watching Alira use her wand proved interesting because her magic centered around Nature, plants and animals alike but her people never used foci. Because her magic required neither words nor specific movements, she simply gestured with the wand and plant life obeyed. It was  pleasant to  watch her elven form move about what would be the edge of the expansion, manipulating roots mostly  unseen to hold the soil in place.

  
  


Later as he sat between the two of them, catching his breath after the expansion succeeded without a hitch he found himself wrapping an arm around both. The last few weeks had brought massive changes to his life, but he couldn’t find it in himself to complain.

  
  


In fact, all the time spent with Hermione and Alira today had reminded Harry that he was most certainly a teenage boy. Upon some self-reflection Harry realized he cared deeply about Hermione, had become fond of Alira, and had _absolutely_ no idea how to act on any of his feelings. His situation was complicated further by the fact that Hermione was still affected by the commands Dumbledore had given her after he had tricked a twelve year old girl with too much trust in authority into giving him control of her Name. Even their new friends at Azurewing Repose had yet to figure out how that ritual inflicted on Hermione actually worked.

  
  


As the day ended Harry simply relaxed as he watched the sun set on his family’s land now expanded from fifty acres to five square miles, or 3200 acres. (12.9 square kilometers) It was rather comical how much dirt they needed, sadly the expansion wasn’t able to duplicate the soil, leaving five square miles of a pit hundreds of feet deep. Aurogos had informed everyone not to attempt apparating onto the property for a time until the expansion had ‘settled’ and they had fixed the new location in their minds. Being sound advice, everyone had agreed.

  
  


Hmm, maybe advice was what Harry needed for his relationships. But who to talk to? Sirius might be the obvious choice, but his godfather came across as something of a womanizer and Harry found himself wanting a permanent partner (or was that partners?) rather than a  long string of girlfriends. Perhaps Valistraza? Apparently how to go about courting a mate was one of the lessons she was responsible for teaching the whelps she cared for. While neither Vali or her culture w ere human, Harry decided not to let that stop him from talking to her;  if the advice was bad he could just ignore it after all.

  
  


Perhaps his experiences with the Dursleys or Magical Britain had soured him  to the culture he’d grown up in , but as he learned about his sworn’s culture he grew to like it more and more. If nothing else, the method by which they had created it was notable. A great series of debates using logic and reason with all sides submitting to magic that prevented lies to decide policy and culture would be enough to give any magical or mundane politician a heart attack.

  
  


Some aspects of draconic culture bothered him, to be sure. Psychopathy was treated as an inheritable condition and was aggressively removed from their gene pool like many physical deformities. In the case of the former, the whelp in question was pushed into a combat role when they came of age and given successively more dangerous missions until they didn’t come back; they were also sterilized quietly in the same way as those with physical deformities were. Such treatment was cold and seemed cruel, and Harry would have objected entirely if he had not read the archived reports of the actions of such individuals before the policy was begun.

  
  


In one such case three millennia before the War of the Ancients, a drake that found himself unable to care for others or even feel love or compassion had lived long enough to become a dragon. He was lost and unable to find any meaningful purpose in life; no matter what he tried or how those around him tried to help him he simply couldn’t _care._ Eventually he fell to some very dark practices to try to feel anything other than cold detachment. His resultant killing spree had destroyed any chance of peaceful relations with the Trolls of Azeroth for thousands of years. Before he was stopped, the dragon had wiped out three villages, killing men, women and children. In the end he was confronted in the burning remains of the third village laughing brokenly. He offered no fight as his life was ended, but the report spoke of how unnerving the laughter was even as he breathed his last. He had also forcibly sired a clutch and as they grew two of the fifteen whelps were found to share their father’s defect.

  
  


In the light of that, Harry could understand the dragon’s caution. Because of the severity of some of the physical problems that had plagued their race in the past, the careful weeding of their gene pool made sense as well. At one time a defect that resulted in anywhere from ten to forty percent of laid eggs not hatching, whelps simply expiring in their shells had been common. A defect very similar to the one that had nearly killed Bavaku had been ‘weeded’ out not long before the War of the Ancients and the Black Dragonflight fell into madness and evil. The fault in the biological-magical process that advanced whelps to drakes in particular had torn many Broodmothers apart, desperately trying to save their charges and being unable; to the point of some losing faith in themselves and worrying into an early grave.

  
  


(Part of that was the Titan’s doing: after the Titans had altered them the dragons seemed to lack creativity to some degree, finding new answers  or cures became difficult. A side effect of any kind of mental control was a limiting of the victim’s thought process, the more severe the control, the less ‘room’ one had to think.)

  
  


Harry had to force himself to not brush off the praise he was given for saving the Nether whelp if for no other reason than to avoid disparaging Azeroth’s healers. Bavaku himself was doing well, some clumsiness notwithstanding. (With the drastic shift in body shape and size, that was to be expected.) His rate of future growth was being slowed as much as possible in an attempt to extend his lifespan from the mayfly-short lives his kin lived in comparison to the Five Dragonflights. Bavaku had apparently taken to the basic magic lessons he’d been given, sitting them when possible with the other drakes. His mortal form and abilities revolving around his ‘flavor’ of dragon were an ongoing project, but he was making progress. But what set Bavaku apart was the zeal he put into his efforts, in everything he did the drake was determined to make himself useful to his Lord.

  
  


It was a tired but triumphant group that stepped through a portal to the Chamber of Secrets that night. They had shared a meal together under the stars, daylight having long since fled by the time both the expansion and soil were confirmed to be stable. Though October in England could rightfully be called chilly, a dozen warming charms had proved enough to turn the air toasty warm around a transfigured table. There was an agreement to deal with the day's problems tomorrow and simply celebrate the success in accomplishing a massive expansion while preserving the Fidelius Charm.

  
  


Harry did not have an easy night. Though he tried to tell himself he did the right thing, it was hard to ignore the voice in the back of his head telling him he was becoming just like Tom Riddle, killing anyone who stood in his way. Now used to sleeping in the Room of Requirement, Harry gave up around two in the morning and descended into the Chamber to ask Dali for a Dreamless Sleep potion. When he stumbled going back up the stairs in exhaustion, Caliona darted over to help him up the stairs. She stayed by his side until he woke the next morning and reluctantly left the warm tangle of limbs to visit the restroom.

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


After breakfast the next day the core of the Potter Dragonflight met to discuss the previous day’s events. This included the Tonks clan, the three dragonsworn, every drake and the resident Broodmother, Harry, Hermione, and Minerva McGonagall; Bavaku remained the only dragon present in his natural form. Nymphadora had reported to Madam Bones exactly what she had seen; ten thugs attacking Minerva McGonagall with lethal force as she exited the bank and ‘persons unknown’ violently intercepting the assailants in turn. Apparently all ten were known malcontents and general thugs. Three had been suspected of being active, but low level Death Eaters in the last war. Two of those were dead, one burned alive with flames that were magical but not quite cursed and the other decapitated. Harry had the other stunned in a trunk next to the more common wand-for-hire at the moment.

  
  


Veritaserum was not a perfect answer to interrogations, as it could be resisted with enough mental discipline. Aurogos and Senastrasz, as the two who had handled a number of interrogations without the benefit of such a handy potion had easily ‘convinced’ the captured thugs that answering every question was in their best interest. What they revealed was… problematic.

  
  


S adly despite Harry’s best hopes, Madam Umbridge had not been spending her time wandering dangerous sea caves on the southern tip of South America. Instead, a magical border officer in Chile had discovered Umbridge had been confounded within an inch of her life and detained her until her mind could be cleared. (An action he  _** deeply ** _ came to regret in the days that followed as he had been assigned to her case by an unhappy supervisor.) Apparently the Minister’s Undersecretary was convinced that Professor McGonagall had been the one to confound her, and the foul woman had some plan going forward.

  
  


This fit the Ministry’s behavior, as according to Dora the other attackers had been treated and released with the Aurors not even allowed to question them. Bill Weasley was bumped up from ‘starting in a week’ to ‘please report to the castle tomorrow.’ Everyone agreed it was best if the castle was ready to repel a Ministry force as soon as possible so the warding team started making plans to prepare what guardians they could quickly and begin sinking additional wardstones around the boundaries.

  
  


When Harry mentioned the defensive set-up he had become enamored with that essentially fixed a large energy weapon to a tower and rained blasts on attackers, Aurogos asked for the name of the book his Lord found it in. Five minutes later the weapon was pronounced ‘workable, but a little crude’ and it was slotted into the schedule to be built along the outside of Ravenclaw tower. All of the remaining possible wand cores from the Storm dragons were slated to be placed in wands to be grown into Stormbark trees, the better to power this defensive artillery. (And likely other defenses as well.)

  
  


Professor McGonagall had requested to be present when they discussed the previous day’s events. After giving her sincere thanks to Harry and the others for protecting her and both healers that had worked on her, she admitted she had some very bad news. Now able to better articulate her thoughts with a clear head, she admitted that the Hogwarts vault was empty. This presented a conundrum, since Dumbledore had left the only key for this vault in his desk when he was chased out of the school.

  
  


Harry spoke into the quiet at that revelation. “Is there any chance that Dumbledore did this?”

  
  


Minerva answered quickly, her face gray. “He wouldn’t have done it before the Battle unless he had planned for everything that happened that day. He could have only done it after if he had returned the key undetected somehow.”

  
  


Hogwarts’ new Headmaster spoke up in response. “Unless Albus Dumbledore can bypass or set off, escape, and re-arm a magic-suppressing Draconic runic trap, he didn’t touch that key. And yes, after your group caught mine in that trap I took it apart and wrote down the particulars Ralion. It was a _really_ good trap.”

  
  


Sighing, Harry looked around the table. “As if we didn’t have enough problems already. Find out how much gold should have been in the vault, we might need to make an after-hours withdrawal. Apparently the Goblins are very unhappy that Hogwarts is teaching magical blacksmithing. Let’s try to figure out what their plans might entail and plan for the worst case.

  
  


“ Also, those drakes who can access other planes of reality, get some practice bypassing wards. When the school’s wards are ready I want us ready to ‘withdraw’ everything the Goblins stole, the contents of the Potter vault, and a penalty for stealing from the school. But I want us to be secure first. Anyone else have something to say?”

  
  


Senastrasz had been holding back his news with the goal of ending the meeting on a high note. “Garrick Ollivander is a dragonsworn. He’s under oaths not to reveal information but he did indicate that his Patron is a male red dragon who has some kind of serious health problem that isn’t a contagious disease. He is currently planning to visit the school on Tuesday to bring his Patron to our Healers.”

  
  


This caused a stir around the table. After quickly conferring with an elf, Aurogos wrote out a quick note, formally inviting the man in question to visit the castle at one in the afternoon on the coming Tuesday. For the postscript he included an apology for the magic woven into the letter. Using his wand, which he was trying to employ more often to blend in, he quickly wove an enchantment into the paper and asked an elf to deliver it to Mr. Ollivander and observe what color the paper turned as he waited for a reply. Five minutes later, the elf had returned with a reply and the original letter, the paper having turned a light shade of red.

  
  


Speaking up, Aurogos reported his results. “Most certainly a reaction to the Red Dragonflight’s magic, though not as strong as it ought to be. Other than having all our healers ready to help and keeping him away from Vali at first I can’t think of anything to do about his condition right now.”

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


In the castle above, students were enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Many students were looking forward to tomorrow morning, eager to have a second lesson from Headmaster Salonar. Even the fact that it was going to be a lecture instead of a practical spellcasting lesson did little to dull their enthusiasm. At the Gryffindor table, Neville Longbottom sat next to Ron Weasley, subconsciously adjusting the bracelet on his right wrist adorned with the Potter Family insignia. He hoped he hadn’t done the wrong thing, hadn’t shamed his family. Neville suspected that helping his parents was something Harry would have done regardless of whether or not he had signed up, but despite his worries couldn’t bring himself to regret it.

  
  


Harry had not lied to him, to anyone Friday night. The Ministry of Magic had rotted and like a dying tree was ready for a stiff wind to blow it over. His parents, Harry’s parents, hadn’t fought, suffered, and died for the likes of Lucius Malfoy to walk free by splashing gold around and merrily go about his business of doing the same damn thing he’d been doing before with politics instead of violence dammit! Looking at the head table, he saw both the Headmaster and his head of house missing but that was expected.

  
  


Neville had heard from Ron about the attack last night, that Professor McGonagall had been injured but would recover. He was glad the group’s healers were still honoring their word to visit his home this afternoon to examine his parents. He was especially grateful to Andromeda Tonks as his grandmother could be intimidating at times. She had not been happy to learn he had stopped using his father’s wand. But that had been the whole problem. It _was_ his father’s wand and had been fighting him every time he’d tried to use it.

  
  


It had not been easy, but after mastering the Earth manipulation spell he had done the same with its Water, Air, Fire and Ice counterparts. Lightning still eluded him, but from what Harry had told him the focus, the intent was something that was against his nature. ‘An instant of change, the point where things will be different after,’ was not part of what made him Neville Longbottom. It was hard to understand what kind of person he was at his very core, but there was a reason Neville found that Earth magic fit him best.

  
  


When the Daily Prophet arrived late, it certainly caused a commotion. A massive headline drew attention to a photo lifted from someone’s pensieve memories, and it showed a dark haired man wielding a sword in his left hand and a wand in his right, decapitating one of the men who ambushed Professor McGonagall. (Not that the ten men ambushing a single elderly woman was shown.) A second photo showed a man in an invisibility cloak cutting down another man and using a thread of lightning to reel in yet another wizard. The headlines were  _** telling. ** _

  
  


“ ** Death Visits Diagon Alley! **

** Wizards Going About Their Business Slaughtered in the Street!” **

  
  


“ ** Ten Wizards Attacked! **

** Five Dead, Two Permanently Crippled, and Two Missing!” **

  
  


“ ** Minister Fudge: Upstanding Citizens killed by those Who Want us to Panic! **

** Discord sown to Deceive Britain that You-Know-Who is back! **

** All Perpetrators Will be Brought to Justice!” **

  
  


A smaller, less prominent headline also boded ill for the future.

  
  


“ ** Hogwarts Bankrupt! **

** Headmaster Salonar Presides Over a Broke School! **

** His Tenure to be Shortest on Record?!” **

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

*  Plane s of reality: So far, Harry’s group can interact with three  distinct  parts of reality: The Dream, which is a universal realm touched by, and possibly created as a product of the dreams of living creatures. The Twilight Realm (named after the dragons who can access it) is very nebulous in cannon, in this fic it is a layer of  r eality close to the physical world where chaotic energy accumulates. And finally the physical world they live in. Think of it like layers of an onion: the physical world and the Twilight Realm are close together while the Dream is furthe r  away .

  
  


.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

  
  


  
  


Omake-Those Who Guard the Gate

  
  


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Under a mountain on an entirely different continent, an extremely secret military installation conducted its business. Today, in a conference room deep under the surface a meeting was about to take place. Those now sitting around the table had just enjoyed a week away from their jobs, finally making use some of their time off. SG:1’s latest adventure had centered around a child cursed with dark knowledge, and the man sitting glumly at the table had been given a vision of what he could be if that knowledge had been gifted to him. Becoming a tyrannical despot and achieving world domination with the threat of force inside of a year wasn’t what Dr. Daniel Jackson expected. Seeing himself turn Moscow into a crater to make an example had been… jarring.

  
  


Today, the group was back to work after a week off. Jack O'Neill was the last to enter the room, still on time but just barely. Taking his seat the man was pleased to see Daniel looking more upbeat than he was a few days ago. Strangely, there was a box on the table, the same type that their team often used to transport unknown artifacts. When the man with a general’s insignia cleared his throat, all four members of the team gave their commander their full attention.

  
  


“ I’m glad to see you all looking rested. Because of your team’s experience with first-contact events, the Pentagon has asked for your thoughts on an event that occurred about a week ago in a trauma center in England.” At that, General Hammond opened the box, revealing an unusual item.

  
  


“ General, is that a dagger made out of gold? This might actually be interesting.”

  
  


“ Yes Colonel O’Neill, it is. To be honest, this situation would probably be beneath our notice if not for a surveillance video depicting something strange. At five thirty-two in the morning, a young man, perhaps still a teenager, walked into a trauma center in Crawley, England and demanded an emergency transfusion kit. He was specific about the type he needed, and he said he needed a spare as well. He was apparently polite at first, though noticeably agitated. The desk clerk told him they didn’t sell medical supplies but suggested he bring whoever needed the transfusion to th eir location for help.

  
  


“ From there, things got less polite. The man withdrew this knife, told the clerk clearly that he had a need for the supplies and was more than willing to pay. At that point, a security guard attempted to intervene by using a Taser on the man. While apparently in working order, the Taser did nothing but anger the man. In short order, the guard was grabbed and thrown twenty feet into a wall. At that point, the man snarled, stormed over to the downed guard, and did something that was captured on a security camera.”

  
  


At that, the room’s screen flickered to life, showing a man who looked human, except for ears that were long and pointed upwards kneeling next to the man with an obviously angry expression on his face. While the camera angle wasn’t able to catch what his hands were doing, it was obvious both of his hands were outstretched over the guard’s chest, and a bare second later an orange glow was captured.

  
  


“ The guard was fine, save for bruises and a broken leg. Upon a thorough examination, he was found to have fluid in his lungs and when it was drained the medical personnel discovered the fluid was blood. What they did not find, however, was any evidence of internal bleeding.”

  
  


Looking around at the inquisitive faces the General smirked. “Oh it gets better. After that, the man walked back to the now terrified clerk and demanded to be told where they kept the supplies he needed. After she told him, he plunged this dagger into the counter. To remove it they needed to take the counter apart. From there the man quickly moved to the storage area for medical supplies.”

  
  


Another video played, this one with sound. When the man in question with long ears still on display reached the locked metal door, he simply tore it open, easily bending the thin steel. As he stepped inside, one side of a conversation could be heard, the man asking whoever was on the other end if there was anything else they needed, and the five watched the video as the unknown individual ended up taking a number of supplies that involved blood, transfusion, and an Inter-venous setup. After rattling off the supplies, he asked the other end a question. “Is there anything else? With these supplies, a bent door, a damaged counter and a wall that needs a little work is twelve ounces of gold and a small diamond enough to pay for it?”

  
  


Apparently receiving a positive response, the young man gathered the supplies into his chest and said one more word. “Recall.” At that, he simply disappeared, vanishing between one frame and the next. Now _that_ raised some eyebrows.

  
  


Speaking up for the first time, Major Samantha Carter gave her thoughts. “General, we’ve seen the Asgard transportation technology, this is something different. This individual also had some kind of disguise tech, which was probably shorted out by the Taser.”

  
  


Jack spoke up then. “As someone who’s worn similar robes way back on Abydos, I’ll say they’re great for hiding things. He could have another set of arms and a tail along with an AK-47 under what he’s wearing. Not that I have any reason to suspect he had any weapon other than the knife.”

  
  


At that, Daniel Jackson snorted. “It wasn’t really intended as a weapon Jack. Gold is far too soft for a practical weapon. Is it safe to handle General Hammond?”

  
  


With an affirmative response, Daniel lifted the knife and examined it for several moments. “It’s an interesting design. It might have had an edge doing in, but I’m not quite sure how he got it into the wood without the blade snapping. The grip contains a significant diamond at the end, and the grip itself is simple leather. I’ll have it anylzed, there’s a chance we can determine what kind of animal it came from. The leather is green, and if it was dyed someone did a very good job. General, this was never made to be an effective weapon; one thrust into the wooden counter completely destroyed its usefulness. It doesn’t appear to be a ceremonial item either, I have a little knowledge of blacksmithing and from what I can tell this was made in a mold.”

  
  


Teal’c, a very large, dark skinned man spoke for the first time at this point. “For what purpose do you believe this item was forged then, Doctor Jackson?”

  
  


Taking one last careful look at it, then setting it back in the carrying case, Daniel replied. “To be stabbed into a piece of wood and be difficult but not impossible to remove. Changing the subject a little, the man’s behavior is interesting. I think we can all agree it looks like he’s an alien, though we haven’t actually seen this species before. That begs the question, why would an individual with unknown healing technology need a transfusion kit?”

  
  


Jack was the one to answer the question. “If his species have the technology to perform transfusions easily, he must have been caught without it. When that guard was tossed into the wall that should have been lethal from internal injuries. But his healing device left the blood in the lungs, so it isn’t perfect. Teal’c, what do you think?”

  
  


The Jaffa thought for a moment. While Daniel had examined the knife, the others had watched the security footage again. “When the young man was attacked, I believe his actions against the guard were reflexive. There is a strong possibility that some of the anger on his face was at himself for causing injury where he did not intend. The items he took, are they available for purchase to civilians?”

  
  


Jack, oddly, was the one to answer. “Here? Yes. In England, I’m not sure, but probably yes. Does anyone disagree with me that if he was on a radio with someone who knew the different types of supplies, they would have told him that he could have probably bought this in two or three hours without any fuss at all?”

  
  


Samantha leaned forward, a thoughtful look in her face. “We can only guess, but it’s reasonable that a few hours would have been too late. There was probably a life at risk, and he couldn’t delay. That’s more evidence that this was an alien, a human could have been treated anywhere, but if the patient wasn’t human they wouldn’t have the blood needed. That’s assuming the individual or group behaves logically though.”

  
  


Teal’c had watched the lobby scene several more times and spoke up now. “I believe the warrior was insufficiently rested at the time of this confrontation. I have seen many warriors display similar irritability  when exhausted , especially younger ones.”

  
  


Dr. Jackson was the next to speak. “As far as first contacts go, this team has had worse ones. We really don’t have enough information to draw a lot of conclusions on the culture or values involved, but the objective itself and his pausing in it to heal someone who attacked him is encouraging. Does anyone disagree with me that this would suggest at least a small group of aliens on this planet, likely hiding with support from at least one human with basic medical training?”

  
  


Looking around the table, General Hammond spoke again. “Your team has had more first contacts than anyone else on the planet, so the Pentagon wanted me to get your recommendations. What are your suggestions going forward?”

  
  


Jack spoke first. “Keep a careful eye out for other oddities, especially in the area.” After making eye contact with Dr. Jackson, he continued. “But I also agree with Daniel. These might be good people, and possibly a useful ally if their other tech is as good as their healing devices. Heck, just having a healing device in the infirmary that we can use would be worth it. Teal’c had a good point about the man not looking rested. We can probably attribute the whole confrontation to him being desperate for what they needed and being jumpy.

  
  


“ Going forward, I’d recommend a light touch so long as they’re friendly until we know more. I don’t want to repeat that first contact debacle with the Tollan with a group of warriors. Next time we contact the Tok’ra I’d recommend we request any information they might have on this race.”

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A/N: I’m requesting a little help. In Warcraft Cannon, there are these giant trees that the Red Dragonflight has at their permanent settlements. They have red leaves and actually look like something I’d like to have in my yard, but as far as I know they’re never actually named. In Elune’s Pebble they were cultivated over thousands of years and either were purposefully imbued with the Red Dragonflight’s ‘Life’ magic or simply absorbed it over time. I’m currently calling them ‘Alexstrasza’s Boughs’ but the name is kind of clunky. I’d love suggestions for a new name, as well as the various magical trees my characters have grown out of the living wands. 

  
  


What they look like in WoW: static.wikia.nocookie.net/wowpedia/images/9/91/Vermillion_Redoubt.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100821104057

  
  


Leave me a review if you have a good name, or just a review in general. I love reviews because they motivate me to keep writing. 22 is being edited right now, and 23 is a work in progress, but both are looking good so far.

Names so far:

Blackstone : Black dragon tree; it has a Black trunk, dark orange leaves and excretes volcanic soil from its roots.

  
  


Stormbark: Storm dragon tree; this tree has pale blue eaves on ivory-white bark. Constant, visible arcs of electricity play across its branches.

  
  


Kingsleaf: Twilight dragon tree; it has a blue trunk and purple leaves, it draws raw, chaotic magic from the Twilight Realm.

  
  


What needs names:

  
  


Blue tree: White trunk with azure needles, this tree radiates cold. Useful for cutting down on cooling costs in warm climates.

  
  


Bronze tree: Grows in bursts when it gathers enough material/magic. Currently the wands have just sprouted leaves and roots, not doing anything more yet.

  
  


Chromatic tree: Just a mess of five unhealthy trunks each a different shade of purple, reflecting the current state of the whelps.

  
  


Green Tree: Green leaves and trunk of a different shade, this tree works better than Nyquil: Get too close and you fall asleep.

  
  


Nether tree: Immaterial, you can throw objects through the tree because it doesn’t fully exist on the physical plane of reality. They grow healthy, but re-potting them is a problem because you just pass through them.

  
  


Red tree: Physically unchanged from the parent tree save for gaining striations of red in its trunk, this tree absorbs magic from its environment and releases it again after tuning the magic to the life-nurturing energies used by the Red Dragonflight.

  
  
  



End file.
